Set Fire To The Rain
by AnimeFan202
Summary: They couldn't be less alike, really. Now, if only they could realize this... well, then, maybe they'd be able to save themselves from all the unnecessary pain.
1. Prologue

**Wow, my first new Outsiders fic in a while… Basically, this story came to life because I wanted to make an OC with all the qualities I think she should have… basically, I've just realized lately, that there's really only one OC in any Outsiders fanfic that I've ever really liked. (I highly suggest reading **Taming **by **HavocDream**)**

**Anyway, there are a few new things I'm doing with this story. I've seen people put quotes or song lyrics before they begin their chapters and I was never really willing to commit to something like that before now… but as I've now named a story after a song, I find it appropriate. (:**

**Though this one does start out with lyrics from the song this story was named for, they won't all be from this song. **

_I let it fall, my heart_

_and as it fell, _

_you rose to claim it-_**Set Fire To The Rain** by _Adele_

**Prologue**

The near-silent greaser boy began to walk the other way, hands in his pockets, an unusually calm smile on his face. He was waiting for her to notice. And notice she did.

"Hey!" she raged. "I was talking to you!"

Well, duh. He knew that; he wasn't stupid, you know.

_So continue our conversation._

"Don't walk away from me!"

_Walk _with_ me, then._

"I mean it, Johnny! I'm not just going to let you go home to those… people!"

He heard her unspoken words- 'I care too much.'

_So show me. Run after me. Show me you care._

"Johnny!"

_Corina._

He got his wish. A moment later he felt her collide with his shoulder, not fully able to stop herself after sprinting after him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of the gang. While some tried to look impassive, he could see the same message in each of their expressions.

This would never work. They were too different.

He wasn't so sure.

**Review please! **

**Yes, I know this is short; keep in mind, it's only the prologue.**

**This is actually part of a scene that will show up later in the story. The difference is, that in this you get an inside look into Johnny's thoughts, and as the story is told through my OC's eyes, you won't see that when this part finally comes around in the story.**

**I don't own the Outsiders!**


	2. Chapter One

**So, I'm starting this now… no idea if I'll get it done tonight… ^^' **

**As for the lyrics thing… I'm sure you'll find over the course of this story, that I have a fairly broad taste in music… I'm not a one-genre kind of person.**

_I'm strong on the surface…_

_Not all the way through_

_I've never been perfect…_

_But neither have you_-**Leave Out All The Rest **by _Linkin Park_

Corina had her head propped up on her hand, peering out the car window at her new town. As her father had insisted on driving through all of it, she could clearly see that it was split in two. One side was obviously the poorer side- that fact was sort of hard to miss, actually. And the other side… well, the other side was where her family was moving in.

She glanced over to see her sister had her face buried in a book. Corina knew it was only as an attempt to keep herself from whining and throwing a huge hissy fit about having to move. She couldn't. Not when Corina hadn't complained once.

Recently, Ashley had turned being two years older than Corina into a big thing. She couldn't afford to let her superior, mature façade slip. Corina found herself feeling grateful for her sister's newfound arrogance- perhaps the first time since it had occurred. Though she found herself guilty of it from time to time, she hated whining.

As Ashley was trying her best not to look at anything outside the realm of her novel, Corina got the chance to look at her carefully for the first time in a while without being snapped at.

Her sister was a particularly fortunate pile of recessive genes. Ashley had red hair that fell down her back in curls and ringlets. Her eyes were sky blue and gorgeous in Corina and the majority of the male population's opinions. These were traits that no one else in her family possessed. On top of that, every one of Ashley's limbs were long, lean, and graceful. There was no denying it- her sister was beautiful. This had never been a problem before. Corina had never felt even the slightest twinge of jealousy back when they'd gotten along. Things had changed.

On the other hand, Corina was a reflection of her parents. Both had straight, dark blond hair and brown eyes. It was actually a little creepy how alike her parents looked, and she looked just like them. Sometimes, when they all went on family outings, people would mistake Ashley as being her cousin or friend as opposed to being her sister. Once, she'd even been asked if Ashley had been adopted. No one ever mistook her for being Mr. and Mrs. MacAuliffe's daughter.

She tore her eyes away from her sister as they pulled into the driveway of their new home. It was fairly large and astonishingly white, in a picture perfect neighborhood much like the one they'd moved from. Why they needed to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma hadn't really been thoroughly explained- not in Corina's eyes anyway. Personally, she felt they all would have been just fine, not to mention a lot happier, staying in Connecticut.

Ashley gracefully exited the car and slammed the door without ever once turning to look at or speak to the girl who had been her best friend nearly since she was born. Until recently anyway.

Corina sighed and got out of the car as well. When she'd asked her mother why Ashley was acting so peculiarly, she'd answered that Ashley was just feeling her age, that's all. Corina didn't really understand her meaning behind that. After all, Ashley was only seventeen, not even a legal adult yet! And if anyone lived a sheltered life it was the two of them, even she could see that. What could she possibly have felt as a seventeen-year-old that could cause her to rightfully turn against the sister who'd always been there for her?

Nothing. That was what.

**…**

Sometimes it was worth fighting with her sister. Other times, the battle just wasn't worth it. Especially this time. She'd seen Ashley gearing up for some big match over who got the bigger bedroom, but Corina had gladly taken the smaller one in the corner of house with the sloped ceiling and view of the yard.

The room was eggshell white with a dark blue carpet. It was also extremely neat but only because Corina had yet to get around to unpacking. She flopped down on her bed-the only thing in her room other than her dresser.

She knew she should be enjoying the new house and all its space and airiness. After all, it was much bigger than their last one- much bigger than necessary for a four-person family if you wanted to know the truth. She knew it wouldn't stay this way forever. Soon her family and all their belongings and voices and just their mere presence would clutter it up. And yet, she couldn't stand the thought of staying another minute in this house. She couldn't- not with that tempting view of the outside world streaming through her window.

She hadn't even gotten a hand on the doorknob before being stalled by her mother.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. I want to have a look around the town." She tried not to sound too edgy- like she had something to hide. But her mother had a way of scrutinizing her every move that made her feel self-conscious doing even the most menial of tasks.

Her mother looked her up and down. "Not in that you're not."

Corina sighed and rushed upstairs to change without argument. She was eager to be outside, and she could nearly repeat this speech word for word: while it may be okay to wear sweat pants around the house, it wasn't proper for a lady to wear them out about the town.

She put on a checkered red and white skirt she'd gotten as a hand-me-down from Ashley. Personally, she thought this whole hand-me-down business was quite ridiculous. The two were so close in age and size that they nearly always borrowed each other's clothes. But that had been before Ashley had gone through her equally ridiculous internal growth spurt and had refused Corina entry into her room ever since.

To make sure she wouldn't encounter any further complaints, Corina put on a nicer shirt as well, just to appease her mother. Who said she wasn't a people-pleaser?

She ran into a further bit of luck when she descended the stairs for the second time. Her mother was standing with her father in the dining room, contemplating the chandelier above their heads. She saw her mother glance over at her once more and purse her lips, but she wasn't about to say anything. The skirt she'd put on was from the beginning of Ashley's rebellious phase, and it wasn't exactly the most modest thing she owned. But there was an unspoken rule in their house. Everything was done to please Father. Even Ashley was still his little girl though she was usually positively horrid towards her mother and sister. Laurel wasn't about to bring up what she considered to be a very private subject in front of her husband. And it hardly mattered as a second later Corina had slipped outside.

She breathed in the cool fresh air and nearly skipped down their stone pathway. As she made her way down the sidewalk, she passed many houses just as grand as her own. They were all a respectable distance from each other, and she could just as easily picture her own family in each and every one. She supposed it would take time to get used to her new home.

If asked, Corina wouldn't have been able to tell anyone how long or far she had walked. All she noticed was that after a little while things started to look… well… not so nice anymore. She'd obviously reached the more run-down part of Tulsa.

The houses she passed now had more of a ramshackle look to them. Many could benefit from a new paint job. She passed a gas station that looked just as worn out as the rest of this half of the town, but it was surprisingly busy. It was just as she was passing the gas station that she caught sight of the disturbance.

There was an awful screaming. It sounded most likely to be tearing its way out of a woman's throat. Corina jumped at the sound and brought her hands up to her chest, suddenly feeling a bit skittish. She couldn't see where the sound was coming from so the woman must have been making the racket at least a street over.

Then there was the slam of a screen door, and a second later a boy came tearing around the corner.

Corina didn't have time to react before he slammed into her. She crashed down onto the cracked concrete sidewalk, and, in her haste to keep herself from falling, accidentally dragged him down with her.

They were on the ground, nearly on top of each other long enough for her to see that the boy had tanned skin, long dark greased-back hair, and big dark startled eyes. After a second she realized that she still had the edge of his jeans jacket gripped tightly in her fingers.

At nearly the exact same moment, she released him and the two jumped up, awkard expressions on both of their faces. Neither seemed to know what to say, so she continued to stare shamelessly.

Though they wouldn't meet her own, she found that his eyes, despite the way he'd come sprinting around the corner, were not filled with terror, just wary. She had just decided that he was exceptionally handsome when a second boy came running around the corner.

This boy sent a chill down her spine. His hair was so blond it was almost white, and his eyes were the lightest shade of blue she'd ever seen. Maybe these features would look angelic on someone else, but there was just some sort of dangerous air about this boy. His eyes swept the street and then landed on the boy who'd just knocked into her. He strode towards the two of them with a determined set to his face.

She glanced over at the boy who'd just plowed her down and saw that he hadn't noticed this newcomer yet… but she was left without a doubt that this thug was the one who'd sent him running off in a panic. There was something about the other boy's eyes that drove any and all logic from her mind. Somehow, she lost track of how sure she had been that it had been a woman's shrieking. Not really thinking of what she was doing, she stepped between the two of them at the last second.

The blond boy paused long enough for her to say, "Leave him alone."

Corina tried to make her voice sound threatening, but, while she had a bit of a rebellious side herself, (her tomboy-like ways drove her mother crazy) she had to admit that she wasn't exactly a threatening person.

Slowly, a devilish grin crossed his face. "Little far from home, ain'tcha?"

Corina tried to stand her ground, but on the inside she was shaking like mad. Luckily, she didn't have to face what came next. The boy slipped out from behind her and came to take her place in the middle.

"It's okay, Dal," he said quietly. Then he turned to her, making a very brief second of eye contact. "I'm sorry I ran into you."

"Huh? Oh, yeah… no problem," she mumbled sheepishly. This turn of events had her utterly baffled.

The dangerous-looking one scoffed. "Let's go, Johnny. Soda and Steve are waiting for us." It was clear that he'd chosen to completely ignore her.

"Yeah." The darker boy-Johnny-gave her one last nod before falling behind the one who was apparently his friend into the gas station parking lot.

Corina stared after them, still a little shaken up. It had all happened so fast. But she was certain of something: whatever else he may be, Johnny was relatively polite, more than a little attractive, and totally off-limits.

Yet, she didn't stop herself from staring after him for that extra second.

**Review please! I don't own the Outsiders.**

**And I'd like to thank **_JAADAA, cristlay, _**and **_insanexnerd1544 _**for the wonderful reviews they've already sent in. (: **

**Corina's character is a little hard to explain. As much as I'd love her to be a rough, tuff, total badass tomboy… I'm trying to make her fit with the times a little. For a story that was written in the '60s, giving her so many awesome, distinctly modern qualities, is overdoing it a bit in my eyes. I guess that's kind of what I'm trying to get across in my idea of the 'perfect' Outsiders OC.**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

_You mighta heard I run with a dangerous crowd_

_We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud_

_We might be laughin' a bit too loud_

_But that never hurt no one… - _**Only the Good Die Young **by _Billy Joel_

For another moment or so after their confrontation, Corina stood staring in the direction the two boys had gone. That is, until a car came speeding past her, the wind it caused in its wake effectively lifting up her skirt as she hurriedly pressed it back down. She glared down at the offensive piece of fabric, her face as red as the little decorative squares as she heard catcalls from the boys driving away.

She longed to act in a way that would infuriate her mother. To wave her fist at the ill-mannered teens and chase after them, shouting insults. But… she thought better of it, figuring she'd already embarrassed herself enough for one day.

Instead, Corina hurriedly turned and began to make the journey back home. It had been a very brief outing - short enough to convince her family that she really hadn't gone very far at hadn't been in the house for more than a few seconds before she was cornered by her mother.

"Corina Marie MacAuliffe!"

Corina winced and slowly turned to face her mother who stood in the doorway of the dining room. The woman had her hands on her hips, and her eyes were silently critiquing her. Unfortunately, Corina couldn't count on the rest of her to be so quiet.

"I can't believe you left the house looking like that!"

Corina paused then went to look herself over. She spotted a tiny tear in her skirt that must have happened when she'd been knocked down. (How in the world had her mother seen that?) She could feel that the backs of her thighs were also scuffed from her little tangle with the concrete. (Why had she grabbed the short skirt?) Corina rushed upstairs to change yet again that day, a shameless retreat so as to avoid another confrontation that day. As she hurried away, she couldn't help thinking, _If you'd just let me leave the house in pants, this never would have happened…_

**…**

Once she reached the top of the stairs she spotted what was a rare occurrence nowadays: her sister's door was open. She could see Ashley sitting at her vanity table, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Corina watched as she brought a hand to her hair and pinched a strand right below her ears. She didn't seem to have noticed her audience. Corina watched curiously as her sister released her hair and reached for something she hadn't previously seen on her little table.

"Hey!" Corina strode forward, snatching the scissors out of her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" they both snapped at once. Followed quickly by a, "Get out of my room!" from Ashley.

She did so, making sure to take the scissors with her. "What are you doing?" she repeated, standing just beyond the doorway.

Ashley threw her hair back, giving her a snooty look. "None of your business. Gosh, you are such a pest sometimes; why do you always have to be in everyone else's space?" When she didn't move Ashley sighed. "I was just thinking about a new look, okay? And apparently, I'm not the only one…"

Corina stood stiffly as her sister looked pointedly at the short skirt she was wearing. She looked down at the scissors in her hand. She couldn't imagine why her sister would want to mar the looks that so many envied. But she didn't ask this. Instead she said, "Mom said I had to look presentable if I wanted to leave the house."

"Yeah? Where'd you go?" Her sister didn't sound terribly interested, but she'd asked which was more than Corina had expected to get out of her. So she launched into her tale, and by the end of it Ashley had stopped to stare at her, her mouth forming a little O.

"What were you _thinking_? You're such a kid sometimes! Why would you do anything so stupid?"

Now it was Corina's turn to stare. For the life of her, she couldn't imagine what part of her story could possibly have gotten her sister so riled up. Ashley ushered her into her room as their mother's voice passed by the stairs. Corina walked in and shut the door behind her.

"Annie used to have a pen pal here, and she told her all about Dallas Winston." Annie had been Ashley's best friend back in Connecticut. For a while, Ashley had regaled her younger sister with tales of Vicky, the wild southern penpal Annie spoke of.

Corina blinked. "Do you really think that boy could've been Dallas Winston?"

Ashley gave her a flat look that clearly asked, _Are you really doubting my wisdom?_ "Believe me, Cory, I've read enough cautionary descriptions to be able to pick him out. Besides, you said that other boy called him 'Dal', right? _What_ are you staring at me for?" she demanded.

For Corina had stopped. It felt like it had been forever since her sister had used her nickname. She wondered if 'Cory' felt as foreign in Ashley's mouth as it did in her own head. But she just shook her head. "It's nothing. What exactly has Dallas Winston done that's so bad?"

"What _hasn't_ he done? Vicky's old boyfriend _looked _at him the wrong way and that hood put him in the hospital for a week!"

Corina took in this information, shivering as she did so. It was like those tragedy survivors who didn't realize just how close to death they'd been until afterwards. She began to reconsider the idea that the other boy- Johnny may have been running from Dallas after all.

"That's creepy… I hope there aren't too many like him…"

"You clearly haven't done your research. This whole town is split like a war zone."

"Really?" said Corina with wide, curious eyes.

Ashley nodded emphatically. "Uh-huh. That's what Annie said. I don't know about you, but I plan to steer clear of any of _their crowd_."

Though Corina thought she sounded a little too much like their mother what with the reproach in her voice when she said 'their crowd', she did share a little of her sister's worry.

"Yeah, but… they can't all be as bad as Dallas Winston… right?"

Ashley shrugged. "I don't know. I've heard he's one of the worst, but there are some who come pretty close."

Corina stood abruptly. She'd had enough of this talk. It brought her back to when they were really little and Ashley would tell her ghost stories that would keep her up all night.

"By the way, I wouldn't wear that to school tomorrow," Ashley called after her when she made to leave. "Might give people the wrong impression."

Corina could clearly hear the familiar sneer in her voice and made sure to slam the door behind her.

**…**

Tulsa High was a typical public school. Unfortunately, Corina had never been a student anywhere outside of her St. Mary's in Connecticut… and it showed. She got instantly lost on her way to her first class, and she quickly lost Ashley in the crowd. Not that her sister would have wanted to be seen with her anyway…

By a stroke of luck she was only five (okay, six…) minutes late to her first class: Biology. She tried to close the door behind her as quietly as possible, but it didn't really make any difference as she'd just interrupted the teacher's beginning speech.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The teacher was an older man with silver hair and a bald spot. Her looked at her over the top of his glasses, and she was struck again by just how big this school was. Back at her old school there wasn't a single student that every teacher didn't know. A new student would be spotted immediately.

"Um… I've just transferred into this class… sir."

His eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah! Yes, I remember reading your file. Very high marks," he praised. Her face burned as she heard a snicker from the back. "What was your name?"

"Corina," she supplied.

He nodded, like that was fascinating, but it didn't really matter anyway. He gestured towards a seat in the front row and she hurried over to it, painfully aware that every eye in the room was on her.

She passed the class with her head down, staring at her textbook. Luckily, it was something she'd already gone over in her last school.

Near the very end, she peeked up to get a glimpse of the classmates sitting beside her. On her right was a boy (deep in slumber) whose head seemed ready to slip off his palm. On her right was a girl with shiny brown hair and bright blue eyes. Though her sister was usually more the one to notice what people were wearing, Corina did think that the yellow blouse looked very good on her.

On that girl's other side was another boy. But he looked very different from all the other students she'd seen… in this class anyway. The boy had reddish-brown hair that was slicked back with she wasn't sure she even wanted to know how much grease. He had gray-green eyes (which she decided were really more green) and looked a bit younger than the rest of the students. He wasn't really paying attention either, choosing instead to doodle in his notebook.

Class ended abruptly with a ring of the bell. Startled, (Mr. Stevenson had been interrupted mid-sentence) Corina quickly fumbled for the little slip of paper with her schedule on it while everyone else filed out.

"Hello." Corina looked up when she realized this greeting was directed at her. It was the girl who'd been sitting next to her- the one with the yellow shirt.

"Uh, hi…"

"My name's Lauren. I know you're new here… I could help you find your next class if you like."

"Thank you," said Corina gratefully, standing. It turned out that Lauren had actually been assigned this job as they had the same homeroom as well, though Corina had spent today's homeroom getting an introductory speech from the office lady. But Corina didn't really mind. Lauren seemed nice enough, and really, she didn't care what circumstances her guide came under.

Out in the hallway, Corina answered polite, small-talk questions about Connecticut, though really she wanted to know more about Tulsa. Lauren may have been kind, but she loved to talk. Corina's only chance to speak was when she whipped her head around, thinking she'd caught a glimpse of something she hadn't expected.

Her movement had been so sudden that Lauren had stopped. "What?"

Corina barely heard her. For she'd found what she'd been looking for. She had spotted the boy who'd been sitting beside Lauren in Biology, but it was his companion that had caught her eye. Walking beside the artistic boy was Johnny- the dark-haired boy that she'd stood up to Dallas Winston for.

A shiver ran down her spine. He didn't look any older than herself so it made sense that he'd go to school, but she hadn't expected to see him here any more than she'd have expected to see Dallas Winston here.

"Lauren," she said slowly, "what can you tell me about those two?"

Her new friend glanced over and the expression on her face immediately changed to one that was more than a little uncomfortable.

"The one who was sitting next to me in class today is Ponyboy Curtis." (Corina was positive she hadn't heard his name correctly, but she ignored this, not wanting to interrupt.) "The darker one walking next to him is Johnny Cade." She paused there as if she wasn't sure why else was expected of her.

"What are they like?" Corina pressed. She supposed she couldn't speak too much for Ponyboy, but neither of them seemed particularly _mean_. She'd pegged him as guarded, but he seemed to have a softer side to him. As she watched, he checked over his shoulder as if he could sense them watching him. The two both looked like they didn't belong in this crowd.

Lauren shrugged, not looking at her, then she turned back and said, "I would get too close to either of them if I were you." Her voice dropped. "They're _greasers_."

Corina looked at her blankly.

"You know… hoods… the kind who go around beating up people."

Corina blinked and looked back at the two boys who were farther down the hall. She let Lauren tug her away in the other direction, but she continued to stare even as the two greasers turned the corner.

Sure, Johnny was buddies with Dallas Winston… she'd seen the proof of that with her own eyes. But the kind, quiet boy who'd taken the time to apologize to her couldn't really be like Lauren said… could he?

**Review please!**

**Ugh… I've fallen once again into the rut of not even having an excuse for why it's been so long since I've updated… I actually meant to put this up yesterday… of course I'm a little behind schedule.**

**I want to get it out there right now that I can't be counted on to keep the chapters this consistently long. This is actually longer than I thought it would be.**

**I kind of just wanted to add this in because it got a little exaggerated even for my liking: Corina is not thinking very clearly of Dally. She got the horror-story version of him from her sister who got an even worse version from her friend. She'll meet the real him eventually. ;)**

**I don't own the Outsiders!**


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

_Is this the end of the moment_

_Or just a beautiful unfolding_

_Of a love that will never be_

_Or maybe… be? -_**Anywhere But Here** by **SafetySuit**

Lauren escorted Corina to her next class but (was she imagining this?) hurried away afterwards. The new girl sighed, pushing open the door to English, wondering if that would be the end of their very brief almost-friendship. Maybe she was a little dense, but Corina really didn't see why just bringing up the 'greasers' as Lauren had called them was such a big deal.

She managed to focus during class, but it was boring as ever. She'd seen enough Response to Literature questions to last her a lifetime. To her surprise, Lauren actually appeared at the end to walk with her to lunch as they'd mentioned before that they ate during the same lunch wave. The other girl seemed content to act like the conversation they'd had about Johnny and Ponyboy (which actually was his name; she'd asked around) hadn't happened so for the sake of a little less turbulence in her life, Corina followed her lead.

If she were being totally honest with herself, there was another reason she let it blow over. As long as she was getting along with Lauren, she wouldn't have to suffer through the pain and embarrassment of having no idea where to sit during lunch. She was led to a table in the middle of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that there were kids sitting outside even though there was still plenty of room in the cafeteria.

Lauren joined the line to get her lunch, but Corina always packed hers, not to mention packing her lunch took away one extra stress the first day in a new school brought. She looked around the table to see four other girls. Three were in cheerleading uniforms, two with blond hair and gossipy tones as they talked in low, speedy voices to each other. The other had red hair and was staring despondently down at the table while her friend, the girl with short dark hair and not in uniform, tried to cheer her up.

"I'm sorry, Cherry," she consoled, "but if Bob's head's really been turned by this other girl, then he's not worth it."

The two blondes looked up with interest, clearly having sensed a juicy story. Corina didn't want to stare, but she looked up as well. She got the feeling this dark-headed girl hadn't exactly mastered whispering. It was at this point that Lauren returned.

"Oh, hey, Cherry, it's been a while since you sat with us," were the first words out of her mouth. "Corina, this is Cherry, Marcia, Alice, and Jane," she continued, gesturing around the table at the other girls. "Guys, this is Corina; she's new here."

She got barely a nod in reply as Marcia had taken advantage of her pause to explain. "Her boyfriend's spent this whole lunch period checking out some other girl that showed up today," she said sympathetically.

Lauren pointed the boy out for Corina's benefit, and she felt her insides freeze. Sitting at Cherry's other table among all the football players, laughing at something, and most likely flirting with _all_ the boys there, was Ashley. She quickly looked away, choosing not to share that this offensive girl they were talking about was her own sister. Luckily for her, Cherry seemed to have had enough with her little pity party.

"Corina's an interesting name," she commented wanly, looking up for the first time.

"Thanks," Corina replied, choosing to take this as a compliment. "My mother was… a little eccentric when she was younger." Something no one saw a trace of these days, she might add. Yes, Corina was an interesting name, a little fancy. In most people's eyes, a name that stood out too much. It was a name a small child saved for a doll, not their daugther. But she didn't bring this up. If any of them thought it sounded a little snobbish, they kept it to themselves.

And soon, the conversation turned to another girl. One who'd just walked past their table. Corina didn't think much of her until Jane glowered as she walked past. She then proceeded to stab viciously at the glop of whatever they were serving for lunch on her tray.

"Who was that?" the new girl asked. While she hadn't paid much attention to her, she hadn't looked like one of Jane's crowd. That and her expression gave her strangest feeling that they weren't friends.

"Evie Jacobs," Lauren answered in a lowered voice, as if by not speaking loudly she could calm her blond friend. But it only seemed to ruffle her feathers the tiniest bit more.

"What does Steve see in her?" she asked cruelly. "She's so _awful_!"

"What do _you_ see in Steve?" Alice replied, sounding unconcerned.

Lauren giggled. "Have you seen his best friend? I'd put up with Steve if it gave me a chance to get closer to Soda…" she said dreamily.

Corina looked at the three of them, more confused than before and just a little incredulous. "Isn't that kind of mean? Why can't she be with Steve just because she _wants_ to be with Steve?"

Jane glanced up at her quickly, a hard look flashing through her eyes. "Because Evie is trash, that's why. She's a greaser girl."

_Oh boy,_ Corina thought, _we're back to this again? _But surprisingly, it wasn't Corina that jumped to their defense. (All the better, too, she thought later. Not only would it make it a bit more obvious that she didn't know what she was talking about, but she'd already come too close to losing any possible new friends in one day.)

"Oh, just leave it alone Jane," said Cherry, sounding almost bored. "Steve's a greaser too, and we all know it."

For the record, Coraina hadn't, but this was yet another thing she wasn't about to bring up. Jane scowled at her. She rose from her seat and picked up her tray, dumping it in the trash just a little too forcefully.

…

Corina had been waiting outside the school for a good ten or fifteen minutes when her sister finally emerged from the building. She came rushing over, wearing a brighter expression than she'd seen on her in a long time. This alone was almost enough to convince her that her father was right, perhaps this move could be good for all of them. Almost.

"Hey," she nearly chirped.

"Where were you?" Corina was a little tetchy, she'd admit it. But she felt she had a right to. Her mother had already made it clear that she wasn't to make the walk home alone.

"I called Mom from the phone in the office. I'm going to hang out with some friends this afternoon."

Corina raised her eyebrows. "And what does she think _I'm_ doing?"

Ashley grimaced, her expression dimming a little. "Well, I think she sorta assumed you'd be with us, but you don't have to if you don't want," she added quickly. "You can say… that I walked you to the end of the street or something."

Corina sighed. To be honest, she didn't think walking home by herself was such a big deal, and she wasn't really too keen on the idea of hanging out with a bunch of football players. Of course… she could always take advantage of the fact that her mother wouldn't be expecting her home right away. Her instince was to push this thought away immediately, but then another one formed… Why not? She'd never done anything rebellious in her life.

She noticed her sister staring. "Don't worry about it," she said at last. This answer was clearly the one Ashley had wanted to hear. She beamed before practically bouncing back into the building without so much as a goodbye.

After she was gone, Corina let a little smile take over her face as what she'd just done sunk in. It was very out of character for her, but it was a nice change. She felt… free.

Corina wasn't completely sure where exactly she was going; she just started walking. Her look around the town hadn't exactly taken her very far the other day. But before she knew it, she found herself walking the same path she had before. She paused a little, being able to pinpoint the spot where she'd first run into Johnny, kind of literally.

She jumped when she heard a crack overhead. Almost disbelievingly she spotted thunder clouds above. She nearly groaned. She thought she'd left the fickle weather behind in New England. Corina considered turning back, but figured that she could find a place to take cover and wait out the rain.

But no sooner had she thought this than it started to pour. She gave a little shriek and began to run, attempting to cover her head with her hands, but she was still getting soaked. Looking back, it was a wonder she didn't careen into the street. She didn't stop until she slammed into something.

When she looked up from where she'd falled to the ground, she was staring incredulously into the equally soaked face of none other than Johnny cade. He looked just as startled as she was.

"Corina?" He slowly helped her up.

It made her a little happier than she would've like to admit that he knew her name. As she was still panting from her sprint, she couldn't get up enough air to actually respond.

He stared at her for one extra minute before he began to gently tug her across the street. "Come on." She lost her breath again the second he took her hand.

He led her to a dilapidated house with peeling white paint. She wasn't really conscious of anything other than Johnny's touch until she entered the house… and found herself standing in a kitchen… surrounded by a group of five staring boys. She froze again, but for a much different reason. Immediately she looked down and felt her face heating up.

One of them said something to Johnny, but she didn't hear it. However, she was almost hyperaware of the moment when one of the boys strode up and put a hand under her chin, tilting her face up to his.

"What's the matter, kid?" he asked, a smile behind his words. He sounded more like he was joking than actually concerned, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"There's water… falling from the sky," she managed to choke out.

He let out a hooting laugh, like she'd just said the most hysterical thing in the hystery of all jokes. "Yeah, it's called rain. Happens from time to time."

"Can it, Two-Bit." She looked up just as an extremely large and muscled man tossed her a towel that she just barely managed to catch. This man was possibly the most intimidating person she'd ever seen, and it didn't stop with the fact that he was huge. His eyes were icy, yet he made no motion that she should leave.

"It's Corina, right? I didn't know you and Johnny were friends." She found this voice to belong to Ponyboy Curtis, the other greaser she'd had Lauren describe in the hall that day.

"What a fancy name," she heard a voice sneer from the doorway behind her. "You're a Soc, if I ever seen one."

She spun around to find yet another surprise. Dallas Winston was standing in the doorway. She wasn't sure what degree of fear flashed through her eyes, but it only served to amuse him more. And she found that she had been wrong. Even sopping wet, Dallas Winston was still the most intimidating person she knew. However, none of the boys seemed even slightly fazed by his presence.

"Hey, Dallas," greeted an incredibly handsome boy who was sitting on the tabletop. Vaguely, she could see that he looked a little like Ponyboy.

The boy standing behind the table was scowling, but it fit into his features too well to be a rare thing. "Hey, Dal. I didn't think you were outta jail yet."

The words sent a shiver up her spine, but Dallas just laughed. "I got off early on good behavior," he informed them, then laughed again to show the ludicrousness of it all.

Soon, the boys were falling back into place around her. She felt like the random puzzle piece that had gotten put back in the wrong box.

After they caught up a bit and introduced themselves to her, she was put back up on the pedestal that she had begun to despise. She wished she could just fade into the background.

"So how d'you know Johnny?" asked Steve, the one she'd recognized as the boy Jane had been pining over in the cafeteria that day.

"Um, I kind of… ran into him the other day… And then again today…"

"Actually, _I_ ran into _her_…" Johnny corrected quietly.

"Does it really matter?" Dallas cut in. He was watching her closely, and it only made her want to avert her eyes more; if that were possible… Corina was pretty sure she knew why she was amusing him so much though. The girl that had stood up to him during their first encounter was nowhere to be seen today. Finally, he turned away. "So what else has been going on?"

"Y'all should've been at the DX earlier today," Two-Bit hooted. "This new broad I've never seen before showed up and was all over Soda!"

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Dallas smirked, but he did seem vaguely interested.

"The Socs she showed up with looked pissed," Steve added, but he didn't seem to be getting nearly as much of a kick out of this.

"Aw, they ain't got nothing to worry about," Soda waved it off. Then he chuckled. "Sandy would kill me if I ever looked at another girl."

"You don't know the half of it," scoffed his best friend. "Sandy's temper's got nothing on Evie's."

"Who was she?" Two-bit interrupted. He lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "Anyone I'd be interested in?"

"I doubt it." Steve laughed for the first time. "She wasn't blond!"

Soda scrunched his nose up in concentration. "I think her name was… Ashley."

Corina felt her face burning again. Was there anywhere her sister hadn't been today? Her gaze traveled to the window and her heart jumped yet again, but in relief this time. She handed the towel back to Darry, the huge one, as calmly as she could.

"The rain's stopped," she informed the boys a bit unnecessarily, hoping her relief wasn't too evident. "I should be getting home."

Darry nodded. "I can give you a ride, if you'd like."

"No, that's alright!" she nearly squeaked out, turning down his offer almost the second he'd made it.

"Don't be a stranger," Dallas called after her sarcastically as Corina nearly sprinted out of the house.

**Review please!**

**And sorry for the wait on this one… I own nothing!**

**Thank you, **_DirenKyo_**, **_petrova-pierce_**, and **_insanexnerd1544 _**for reviewing chapter one.**

**And thank you, **_Guest_**, **_JohnnyIsMyGoldSunset_**, and **_insanexnerd1544 _**for reviewing chapter two!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

_Never look back,_

_You're much stronger than that_

_And nobody knows where to go_

_When they come to a fork in the road… _-**Fork in the Road **by **The Latency**

By the time Corina had reached her house, she'd completely forgotten why she'd originally wanted to go straight home to begin with. Unfortunately, that bliss ended quite abruptly the second she walked into the house, because there stood her mother, hands on her hips, bearing the eyes of an angered dragon.

"Corina Marie MacAuliffe! Where on earth have you been?"

Corina winced, knowing they could all see it and it only made her look guiltier. That was the second time in as many days that her mother had used her full name. She wondered briefly where the polite, obedient daughter she'd always been had gone.

"I told you, Mama," said Ashley, sidling over to her mother's side. "She was with us, but she wanted to wait out the storm with that boy…" Her sister giggled. Corina was bewildered as to what her sister could possibly be talking about, but more so that anyone believed her with the act she was putting on. It had been ages since Ashley had spoken so sweetly to their parents, and she was overdoing it quite a bit in the innocence department.

In an attempt to look anywhere but at her mother and sister, Corina directed her gaze toward the other corner of the room… where to her surprise, she found her father home early.

George MacAuliffe was entering his mid-forties with graying dark blond hair and eyes that always appeared exhausted, especially so since the move. He often seemed like his mind was far away and appeared baffled when brought into most family discussions.

"You're too young for boys," he replied in a moment of clarity, though he still sounded far too tired for his age.

"Daddy… I didn't stay for any boy… I just didn't want to get wet, is all," she hedged awkwardly, noting her sister's damp hair.

"I don't really blame you," Ashley stage-whispered. "It takes a lot of willpower not to give Sodapop Curtis a second look." For a moment, it was believable that Ashley had completely forgotten she was putting on a show, if one judged this by her dreamy tone.

Laurel's eyes snapped to her eldest daughter suspiciously, who quickly composed herself. Their mother pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation.

Finally, she said in a tense voice, "I don't want either of you alone with some boy your father and I don't know. And I expect both of you to be home when we expect you to be."

Now Corina wasn't cruel by nature, and she was perfectly aware that her mother was closing the subject, and that she should have left it at that… But she was finding it harder and harder to be patient with a sister who repeatedly dragged her around as if she were attached to a leash.

"Oh, Mama," she said a bit patronizingly, latching onto her sister's old false tone. "It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. It wasn't like we were alone."

"No?" her mother responded skeptically. "Who was there with you?"

"Well, after Corina and her friends left, Soda and Steve- the other boy who was working this afternoon- decided they were going to close up early." As both boys had been at the house by the time she'd gotten there, Corina figured that her story was more or less true. "And Soda's older brother, Darry, showed up to take him home."

The youngest MacAuliffe was far from immune to the fact that her sister was hanging on to her every word, but the story she was fabricating didn't seem to be easing her mother's suspicions any, so she quickly changed track.

"But then Evie and Sandy showed up, and we all just hung out for a while… So that's why I was late," she finished a bit too cheerily.

"Who are Evie and Sandy?" Ashley cut in at once before her mother could either accept or disprove the story in some way.

"Steve and Soda's _girlfriends_," Corina replied, giving her older sister a hard look that she certainly hoped her mother missed. The impact this news had on Ashley was immediate and significant, but it wasn't the impact Corina had been hoping it would have. From the look on her sister's face, she was getting the feeling that if Ashley had a hit-list, Sandy would be at the top.

At last, her mother's stiff posture seemed to relax a little bit, and she said, "Get dressed for dinner, both of you," before stalking off to the kitchen.

With a sigh, Ashley began climbing the stairs, and Corina quickly caught up, a little baffled herself.

"What do we have to get dressed for?" Usually, their school clothes were enough to suffice.

Ashley gave her a long look before rolling her eyes. "Dad's throwing some company meeting…"

"Oh boy…" Corina replied drily before trudging up the stairs after her sister.

…

It wasn't that she hated her father's company parties… they just got tedious after a while. She and Ashley were dressed in their Sunday best, as their mother referred to their fancier clothes. They'd had dinner as a family, but she and Ashley had been watching their guests arrive from the top of the stairs ever since. And they'd spent every second of it trying to goad the other into being the first to go down.

"You're older, remember?"

"Two years isn't such a big difference," her sister countered. Oh, how much she'd yearned to hear those words… in any situation but this one.

"Oh, so now it's not such a big deal?" Corina asked wryly.

"Come on," said Ashley, getting impatient. "If you spend too long standing outside the dragon's cave, sooner or later, the dragon will come out after you."

"That's the worst analogy I've ever heard," Corina retorted stubbornly, but her resolve was fading. Ashley was right. And to top it all off, it was she who was currently on her mother's blacklist, not her sister.

The younger MacAuliffe grudgingly rose to her feet while her sister smiled triumphantly behind her. She made her way down the stairs one by one, deliberately taking her time. This party was sort of like a backwards welcome party for her father to get to know all of his employees. They'd moved to Tulsa so that her father could take a position that hadn't been available in Connecticut. He was now the manager of a roofing company, and everywhere the two girls looked there were men in fancy or semi-fancy clothing, socializing and generally taking up space in their house.

Corina could see that some of the men were clearly more well-off than others. Self-consciously, she picked at lace on her own dress. Many of his employees had brought their own families, and several were trying to look around the house as quietly as possible.

Ashley quickly ventured off to the kitchen to join her mother and some of the wives, and Corina shuffled through the foyer and living room, feeling oh-so-fake. Granted, they had lived like this, but it didn't seem right to have everyone admiring a house that didn't really feel like it belonged to them.

Upon finding that every room was as crowded as the first, the younger MacAuliffe chose to slip past the guests and their families and move out to the front porch. She froze in the doorway when she realized that the porch was not empty either… but there were definitely less people. Only three as a matter of fact. Each boy was younger than the majority of the guests here, and each wore a suit that was not only old but obviously hand-me-down. The three turned when they heard the door open, and Corina froze all over again when the little ding of recognition rang in her mind.

"Hey, Corina," said Ponyboy Curtis. "What are you doing here?"

She stood staring at them while the two younger Curtis boys smiled at her, and Darry crossed his arms.

"Do you know George MacAuliffe?" Darry asked at last.

"Uh, yeah…" she stammered out. "Actually, he's my dad…" Three pairs of eyebrows raised.

"Really," Darry said slowly in a tone Corina wasn't sure she even wanted to try to analyze. How awkward must it be to find out that the girl who was just making a fool of herself in your house but a few hours before was the daughter of your boss.

Sodapop rose from his seat, attempting to diffuse the sudden tension. "C'mon, Dar, let's go inside and join the party," he said, sounding unnecessarily upbeat.

"Soda," Darry sighed. In fact, it was nearly a groan and the closest thing to whining Corina ever thought she'd hear out of the well-muscled man.

"Hey, _you_ were the one they invited," the middle brother interjected immediately. "It can't be all that bad in there; they are your coworkers, right? It ain't like you're in a room of George MacAuliffes." He turned to Corina as if remembering something. "No offense."

To be honest, Corina was so caught up in his encouragement, she hadn't even registered the insult, but she couldn't really blame them. Frankly, the contrast between how they lived and how she lived embarrassed her a little.

With just a single backwards glance as his younger brother and the new girl, Soda strode into the house, a sighing Darry at his heels. There was a moment of semi-awkward silence before Corina sat herself down on the porch beside Ponyboy. She wrinkled her nose slightly as the stench of cigarette smoke reached her, but she tried not to make it too noticeable. Incredibly, the clouds had parted and the sun was visible again just in time for the sunset. They say watching it in silence for a few minutes before Pony turned to her.

"So, where'd you guys move from?"

"Uh, Connecticut."

"Was it nice?"

She merely shrugged.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Don't sound too exciting."

Self-consciously, Corina shrugged again. "It was a small town. There's more going on here… People didn't really walk around town, because there was nowhere to walk _to_."

For the first time, he looked down. "Yeah, well, you might not want to walk around town here. People'll get the wrong idea."

Corina sighed, letting the smallest bit of annoyance creep into her tone. Annoyance that only seemed to amuse Ponyboy.

"What?"

"All this tension between the Socs and the Greasers…" she said at last. "I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong, people still judged each other back home, but it was nothing like this. This is ridiculous. Everyone keeps calling me a Soc, and I barely know what that is!"

Pony grinned, though it was a bit of a bittersweet smile. "It's 'cause you live in a big ol' fancy house like this," he replied, gesturing to the house behind them. "And you saw my house…"

She shifted uncomfortably as he trailed off. "Yeah, but… that shouldn't determine who you are," she mumbled, her own voice petering out at the end.

Ponyboy shrugged and rose to his feet in a gesture that clearly stated, _that's just the way it is. _

"Well, maybe you'll be different," he said, getting ready to go inside. While his words were optimistic, his tone did little to hide that he didn't think it could happen. "You should come hang out sometime," he continued, with a smile that bore him a striking resemblance to Sodapop. "See how you'd rather live." Finished, he followed his brothers inside.

Corina sat on the porch for a while afterwards, mulling over his words. Immediately she knew his offer wasn't really an option. There was no way her parents would agree to her hanging out with a strange group of boys on the rougher side of town. But still, she had to admit that she found the idea just the tiniest bit… appealing.

"Maybe I will," she murmured, though there was no one left to hear.

**Review please! **

**I don't own the Outsiders… **

**Thank you to **_**insanexnerd1544**_** and **_**Liking this **_**for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you liked this one. ^^**


	6. Chapter Five

**I'm pretty sure this won't ever fit into the story as the lyrics for a chapter (because the story's not about Soda and Sandy…) but in my mind, if Sodapop and Sandy had a song it would be **_Already Gone _**by **Kelly Clarkson.

**Speaking of, the lyrics for this chapter fit into that category of being almost cliched because, in my mind anyway, they seem to fit a little too well. But I feel like for this chapter at least, that's almost a good thing, because this is just about the big turning point chapter when Corina starts to get closer to the greasers.**

**Chapter Five**

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge? _-**Taking Chances **by **Celine Dion**

The end of the MacAuliffes' second full week in Tulsa was coming to an end, but for Corina, it was starting to feel like they'd lived there forever. She had begun to settle into a routine, and images of her sleepy Connecticut town were invading her mind less and less.

While Lauren, Jane, and Alice could all be a little shallow from time to time, she now considered the five other girls to be her friends. Marcia was always so cheerful, it was hard _not _to be in a good mood when you were around her. And Corina had decided that she enjoyed Cherry's company most of all, even if the older girl was the one she spent the least amount of time with. The redhead could go from being dreamy to passionate in a second. It was clear that her ideas didn't always clash well with how the other girls viewed the world, but Corina appreciated the variety.

The conflict between the greasers and the Socs was often a large part of their conversations. Cherry didn't seem to think the world was so black and white. However, on this subject, she didn't voice her opinion nearly as much. Corina didn't agree with the other four either, but she never voiced her opinion, so it wasn't like it really mattered.

Overall, things were going well. Of course, her father still worked too much, but her mother had calmed down once they'd started to settle in. Ashley, too, had fallen into her own schedule and found her own group of friends. The two sisters had never had an easier time avoiding each other. Yes, life in the MacAuliffe household was routine and expected and peaceful… except when it wasn't.

Joking as he'd been, Corina hadn't forgotten Ponyboy's offer. Whenever they saw each other in the halls, their eyes would meet, but this was never followed by anything more than a nod of acknowledgement, and sometimes not even that much. They certainly never spoke. In Biology, the two used Lauren as the buffer between them- an excuse to never let eyes wander anywhere but straight ahead. Lauren probably would've had a heart attack if Corina ever tried to cross the bridge between them anyway.

Well, that's how Corina saw it. She had no way to know whether Ponyboy was nearly as interested in herself and her friends as she was in him and his. For all she knew, this bizarre fascination was one-sided.

But the greasers _were_ fascinating. Corina would watch them as she sat in the lunch room, shamelessly tuning out her new friends. Very few greasers actually ate in the cafeteria. Often, they'd leave for the period. But when Pony and Johnny's group _did _stay, Corina would watch. They always seemed to be having such a good time, generally making a lot of noise. Alice liked to refer to it as 'disturbing the peace', but they never tried to involve anyone else- they were simply enjoying each other's company. The greasers didn't seem to care what anyone else thought about them, unlike everyone inside who spent all their spare time trying to impress each other.

To be honest, Corina wasn't sure which way was best. The way the Socs lived was the kind of life that her dad wanted Ashley and herself to work so hard for. The way he worked so hard for them to live like they did. It was definitely an achievement to be proud of. But the socs didn't always seem quite so happy about their status, proud of it as they were. The way Cherry described it, they were always left looking for something when they were supposed to have it all. At least the greasers had a clear goal to strive for.

These were the thoughts plaguing her mind when Corina caught sight of someone familiar in the halls… Without allowing herself to think what she was about to do through, she raced after him before he could disappear into the crowd. Well, as much as one can race after someone while wearing a skirt.

"Johnny! Wait up!"

He turned to see her running up to him, a startled look in his eyes. He probably couldn't have been more more surprised by her actions than she was herself, but she brushed that away.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, stiffening every so slightly as they passed three older Soc boys.

She ignored his tone. "I just wanted to say hello. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" There was a challenge in her voice that she didn't even realize was there until the words were out.

Johnny opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. He sighed, finally settling with, "Well, I guess I can't stop you." He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and hunched over slightly, his gaze glued to the floor as they continued walking.

"I haven't seen you around school lately," Corina said, her voice a little softer.

He just shrugged. "Not really my thing," he mumbled. "I ain't any good at it, anyway…"

"If you want, I could help you," she offered. The look he gave her clearly showed how insane he thought that idea was. But he didn't get a chance to express this feeling further before an arm was slung around each of their shoulders.

"Well, look at we have here! A pair of social outcasts!" This was accompanied by a loud laugh and a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame.

In truth, they had both jumped, but Johnny recovered first, shrugging off his friend's arm with a grin of his own. "Aw, lay off, Two-bit."

Corina had begun to smile too, thinking that this just proved her point. No Soc she'd met so far would have dared drop their cool façade long enough to do something so crazy. Unfortunately, a new voice was now addressing them.

"Get your hands off her, you filthy greaser!"

Both Corina and Two-bit turned to see a Soc standing a few feet away, glaring at them. Corina didn't know his name, but she recognized him as one of Bob's friends so she figured that he must have recognized her as well. But while she felt that they'd just entered a very awkward situation, Two-bit appeared more relaxed than ever. And he hadn't removed his arm.

"And what's it to you if I don't?" he replied coolly, raising an eyebrow. Out of the corner of her eye, Corina noticed Steve, who'd been previously leaning up against the lockers, crossing his arms and coming closer. Glancing behind her, she saw that Johnny's expression has also toughened. The feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach intensified.

She jumped when the warning bell sounded, breaking their staredown. Corina carefully slipped out from under Two-bit's arm and said, "Sorry. I have to get to class."

"Yeah. See ya around, kid." The humor was gone from his voice.

Corina mumbled something along the lines of, "see you later," before dashing off to her next class, never having thought she'd ever be so glad to go to Biology. Of course, there was another part of Biology that she'd forgotten about.

Ponyboy walked in just a moment after herself, but she could see from the way he was looking at her that he already knew. He averted his gaze and made his way to his seat, but before they could resume yet another lesson ignoring each other, Corina leaned over Lauren's empty desk and whispered, "I'm sorry I got your friends into trouble."

For a moment, it looked like he was considering not answering at all. At last he gave her a small smile and said, "It's okay. We get into enough of that without any help."

Lauren entered the room just a second before the final bell rang, looking harried.

"What were you _thinking_?" she hissed at Corina as she took her seat. Luckily, Mr. Stevenson started class, sparing the youngest MacAuliffe from having to come up with an answer.

Corina kept her head down for the rest of the day. As much as she tried to reason with herself, she felt like everyone was watching her. She didn't see any of the greasers again, but that may have been because she spent so much time looking at the floor.

However, she did get quite the telling off from Lauren during lunch. Corina was sure she would go on until the bell rang, but shortly before, Cherry cut in.

"Leave her alone, Lauren."

"Yeah," Marcia jumped in, also uncomfortable with the conversation, and looking relieved that her friend intervened. "It's not like anything happened. And she didn't know any better…"

The new girl didn't say a word, but inside, she was burning with embarrassment. They were talking about her like she was a puppy that hadn't been trained properly! The problem, she noted as Jane and Alice exchanged looks, was that she _did _know better. By now, she couldn't count how many times someone had tried tried to explain to her why Socs and greasers didn't mix, but it had never really clicked before.

And as she found out, it didn't click now either. Despite the earlier conflict, Corina's interest in the greasers had only strengthened. When the final bell rang and all her friends went their separate ways, Corina found that she couldn't get the boys off her mind. Johnny Cade especially.

There was just something about him… Something that she'd seen in him upon their very first meeting. It was more than the fact that he was attractive. (Which he was.)

Corina found that she was left with two choices. She could leave things the way they were- with her having walked away- or she could take one more chance… and she might just be able to bridge that gap forever.

Today had been a particularly bold day for her. Her next idea was crazy. But if it was going to happen at all, it would have to happen today. Perhaps she could gather her courage one more time.

Heart pounding, this time it was Corina approaching the office lady to call her mother.

"Hello?"

"Uh… Hi, Mom."

"Corina? Is everything all right?"

"Um, yeah… I was wondering if I could maybe stay after?" So much for bold. But she supposed it was for the best. A lifetime of experience had taught her that her mother was not one who could be bullied into something.

"Stay after? What for?" She was in luck. Her mother sounded more confused than skeptical.

"Well, I have this… um… Biology test on Monday, and I know we're celebrating Daddy's birthday this weekend," she rushed on, "so I wanted to stay after to study with some friends."

"Oh. Will you be joining Ashley's group?"

"Um, yeah, I was thinking about it." By this point she was lying pretty badly, but she doubted her mother even heard her anymore.

"Oh, wonderful! I'm so glad you two are starting to get along again," she gushed.

Mother and daughter said their goodbyes, and once again, Corina was hit with the sudden feeling of freedom. She beamed at the school secretary and nearly pranced out the door.

Of course, Ashley having a study group was a joke. Like her sister, Ashley was fairly bright when it came to her studies. But that was one thing she never did- study. Recently, the older MacAuliffe sister had taken less and less of an interest in school.

She and her new friends actually whiled away their afternoons hanging out in town. Their favorite place to visit being the local DX where the boys liked to cause trouble and Ashley could ogle Sodapop.

Though Corina had been to the Curtis household only once, she knew exactly where she was going. She had done her homework upon returning home.

She didn't give a thought to walking the rougher side of Tulsa alone, but she was gripped with a sudden anxiety when she caught sight of the dilapidated white house. What if Johnny wasn't even there? What if _no one_ was there? After all, the older boys worked, and Ponyboy ran track after school, didn't he? She could feel a nervous grin forming.

But as she came closer, Corina realized that noise was very nearly _pulsing _from the house, almost as if it had its own heartbeat. She knocked on the door and had almost decided that no one could hear her and to knock again when the door swung open. There stood Sodapop, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, hey!" He motioned to someone inside and the music was turned down just enough so that he didn't have to shout. "Corina, right? Good to see you again; what's up?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Not quite sure what to say, she'd blurted out the first thing on her mind. Well, she never had been tactful.

His eyebrows raised, but the smile never left his face. Soda relaxed against the doorframe, watching her curiously. "Nah, I've got the late shift tonight. I'm leaving pretty soon, actually. Was there something I could help you with?"

"Um, I'm here to see Ponyboy actually…" Oh, lord, she hoped he wasn't taking her blush the wrong way. Because she was _actually _here to see Johnny, but it probably sounded better to ask for the boy who actually lived here.

"Yeah?" He appeared to be even more intrigued. "Is this a surprise visit?"

She puffed up slightly with importance. "I got an invitation, actually." This was technically true…

Sodapop just chuckled and grinned wider, stepping aside. "Well, come on in, then."

**Review please!**

**I don't own the Outsiders. But I really enjoyed writing this one. (:**

**Thank you, **Guest, **and **. .Stars **for reviewing the last chapter!**


	7. Chapter Six

**If I actually manage to get this done tonight, it will be my shortest time between updates ever for this story…**

**Chapter Six**

_They can change the locks_

_Don't let them change your mind _**-Check Yes Juliet **by **We the Kings**

It was one of those moments when the fall from the high is so immediate that one is forced to wonder how they built him/herself up to that point to begin with. The inside of the Curtis home was so clearly lived in, a stark contrast to her own house. In a way, the very aura of the house was welcoming, yet it made her lose every ounce of her newfound courage.

Soda slammed the door behind him but made no move to lock it. Two-bit and Steve were lounging on the couch. The television was on, but no one seemed to be watching it. The two were bickering about something, much more lightheartedly in Two-bit's case. Neither boy noticed her appearance until the middle Curtis brother led her through the livng room.

Both greaser boys stopped when she passed through their line of vision. Steve's eyes narrowed suspiciously and Two-bit opened his mouth to make some clever quip or other, but she followed Soda around a corner before he got the chance. At the end of a somewhat poorly-lit hallway, (the lightbulb hanging above her head looked like it was about to flicker out) Sodapop pounded on a door before throwing it open without waiting for an answer anyway.

"Hey, Pony, you got a visiter."

With that he returned to the living room, leaving Corina to stand awkwardly in the doorway. Inside the room, Johnny and Ponyboy sat on the floor, their school books spread around them.

Again, a smile arising from a combination of nerves and embarrassment appeared on her face, which she was sure was very red. So Johnny had taken her advice after all… it just wasn't _her_ he wanted to study with. Suddenly, she felt stupid, showing up here, trying to fit in with these boys that she didn't even know. Hadn't it been pounded into her head since day one that she wasn't like them?

"What's up?" Pony asked, breaking the silence and taking most of the tension with it.

Before Corina could stammer out something, most likely an apology for bothering them, Johnny spoke up. "I invited her to come study with us."

Never had Corina been more grateful to anyone in her life. Pony accepted this answer, and she settled down on the floor beside them, taking her books out of her school bag.

She soon learned that studying together was more truthfully translated to tutoring Johnny, but he didn't seem to mind that much, and Corina soon found herself learning right along with him. She may have been a good student, but Ponyboy was brilliant. The stereotypes made her cringe; though she knew full well that he was a greaser (and probably proud of that) she just couldn't bring herself to see him that way. And while Johnny was a little shadier in his mannerisms and appearance, she couldn't shake the kindhearted view she had of him.

While for the most part, Corina was very comfortable, there was something to be said for being the only girl in a house of boys. It was quickly revealed that all of the tension and embarrassment was capable of returning just as easily as it had gone.

Sometime in the midst of their studying, she'd vaguely noted hearing the shower start. She noticed again when the water had been shut off, but no connections had really been made. Science had become quite fascinating. Okay, so maybe it was Johnny learning science that had really caught her attention, but hey… details. However, it only took a second for that awkwardness to return full force when Soda suddenly burst back into the room to get ready for work… wearing only a towel.

He reached the bureau holding both his and Pony's clothes in record time and snatched something out of the top one, dropping his towel without a second thought as he did so. Corina's head snapped back around so fast she would be surprised if the sound couldn't be heard in the next town over.

Face red, she glanced up cautiously to see Johnny watching her, seeming to suppress a laugh. Of course, when he noticed she was looking at him, he immediately looked back down at his book. Ponyboy, actually studying, didn't seem to have noticed any disturbance.

Corina willed her face to return to its normal color as Sodapop rushed out of the room and out the front door, now fully clothed. After all, she told herself, she couldn't completely chalk it up to being a house of boys. How many times had her sister burst in on her while she was taking a shower or getting dressed? Or vice versa?

While she managed to compose herself for the most part, Corina didn't look up again until there was a knock on the open door. The three looked up to see Darry standing in the doorway.

"Hey, guys." He nodded to her, and did she imagine the intrigued look on his face? "Dinner's almost ready."

Corina's eyes shot up to look for a clock, but she didn't find one. "What time is it?"

"Almost five," Darry answered, keeping his expression neutral.

The boys watched as Corina jumped to her feet, managing to gather her books as she did so.

"Would you like a ride home?" Still Darry didn't change his tone or expression in the slightest, but she appreciated his lack of judgement, even if she did wish she knew what he was thinking. And this time she knew that if she were to get home in any reasonable amount of time, she had no choice but to accept her offer.

So accept she did. She and Darry rode in a semi-awkward silence. She'd considered asking him how work had been, just to be polite, but she'd then decided that she didn't want to bring up anything that might lead to them discussing her family.

When Darry pulled up outside her house, she gave the man a shy smile and opened the door. "Thank you; I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No problem." She dropped down from his truck to the sidewalk and was about to shut the door when he stopped her. "Corina." She stopped. "If you'd like to come back sometime… you're welcome to."

She doubted there was anything he could have said that would have shocked her more. She paused, thoughts of how anxious she'd been on her way there today. Could she really do that again? What if they had more friends over that she didn't even know? What if Dallas Winston was there? But almost as soon as these thoughts entered her head, she reprimanded herself.

_No!_ she thought. _I've come this far, I am _not _about to cave now._

Corina smiled at the oldest Curtis, a genuine smile as opposed to the awkward ones she'd been giving out that entire afternoon. "Thank you. I think I will."

…

There was the soft thunder of applause as George MacAuliffe blew out the candles decorating his birthday cake. Mrs. MacAuliffe was standing off to the side with a small smile as she watched her husband celebrate the day he turned 45, but Corina and Ashley had been surprisingly close the entire day. It had been a team effort to bake the cake while Laurel set up the decorations, and now the two stood side by side, beaming.

It was odd to be celebrating a birthday in a house that was not quite their own, but Corina was somewhat surprised to note that she was genuinely happy. It gave her the hope that perhaps she could begin to see Tulsa as her home after all.

Moving to Oklahoma had done one of them good, at least. Though it was perhaps the farthest thing from what Corina had expected, Ashley's grades and school attendance had increased dramatically since falling in with her new group of friends. The Socs may have been uppity, but they had a status to uphold.

Corina, on the other friend, found that her friends couldn't be pinpointed quite so easily. When she thought of 'friends', a part of the youngest MacAuliffe knew an image of Lauren, Cherry, Marcia, and the others should appear, but when it did, something always felt wrong. Images of the greaser boys would flash through her mind, making her smile, only to make her wonder whether that was wrong as well. She barely knew them, yet she found she had a general fondness for each of the boys.

While they hadn't done much talking between the actual studying, Corina had been filled in on the basics of the Curtis household. How it was just the three brothers (and usually the other members of the gang) since their parents had died. Corina couldn't even begin to imagine that. A part of her doubted that she and Ashley would be able to band together the way the Curtis brothers had, even in light of the circumstances. The idea was depressing. The frown she felt must have shown on her face, because her father, who still looked tired but happy, turned to her.

"What's the matter? It's a party; cheer up."

Corina forced herself to smile back. "Sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean to ruin your party. I was just thinking of the homework I have to do before tomorrow."

Her mother, of course, was all over that. "I thought you were getting your homework done in your study sessions."

"I am, for the most part. But some of the others are really smart. I'm going to have to go back and do a lot of the math problems over again." This softened her mother's attitude a bit, though she wasn't blind to how her sister's eyes narrowed. Corina had confessed to her afternoon activites… sort of. She'd told her parents that she'd chosen to study with kids more in her age group than Ashley's. To her this was common sense as Ponyboy and Johnny (well, Ponyboy, at least) was in some of her classes.

She couldn't say she was totally surprised when Ashley followed her up the stairs and to her bedroom. Her sister had been burning with curiosity ever since her explanation, but Corina hadn't offered up any further information for her sister. Now, her sister suddenly bolted ahead of her, placing her arm on the opposite side of the doorway, barring Corina from entering before she even had any idea what was going on.

"All right, I've given you enough time. What's going on?" Ashley demanded.

For a moment, Corina just stood there. She felt the familiar desire to just duck her head down and attempt to shuffle past Ashley, playing the silent coward until her sister was finally forced to huff away, her impatience winning out on her curiosity. But something had happened since the last time she'd been confronted. Corina had showed that she could be bold recently, and the adrenaline from how successful those encounters had been seemed to be on hold, just waiting to spike up again. Like it did now.

"None of your business," she retorted, clearly throwing her sister for a loop. "And I may be younger than you, but I'm your sister. Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of servant."

"_Excuse_ me? What's wrong with you lately? Gosh, Cory, you don't need to be such a bitch about it."

Ashley brushed past her to her own room, and Corina found herself surprised once again. Never had her nickname been used in such a context. (Or at all recently.) It had always been an endearment. She was left confused once more. Had Ashley been being unreasonable, needing to be in her space all the time, or had she been especially rude about things considering how few arguments her sister had been starting up lately?

Corina sighed. She closed her door and flopped down on her bed. Life had become so complicated… It was ironic that if there was only one constant in her life right now, she knew it was that she refused to chicken out of showing up at the Curtis's the next day.

…

She didn't chicken out. Not on Monday or any of the next days. In fact, Corina became something of a regular fixture in the Curtis household. So much so that her name fell right into place with Pony's and Johnny's in the greeting they got when they arrived after school, she and Johnny having just watched his track practice.

Then, while Pony showered, (taking care to dress in the bathroom) Corina and Johnny would get settled in his and Sodapop's room, making small but pleasant talk about menial things.

It wasn't until the first Saturday that she arrived that Corina had her next encounter with Dallas Winston. She walked in without knocking, as the boys had been pestering her to do since nearly her second day, and stopped abruptly having spotted Dally sitting at the kitchen table.

He didn't appear to have anything terribly pressing on his mind or anyplace in need of his presence other than where he sat right then. While she could hear them in the other room, none of the other greasers were there in the kitchen with the two of them. If possible, this sent a worse chill up her spine. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the one she experienced when he finally seemed to notice her.

Dallas had already had his trademark amused, arrogant smirk on his face, but this expression seemed to strengthen as he stood, walking a little closer. She resisted the urge to back up.

"Little far from home, ain'tcha, princess?"

Corina clearly remembered the words he'd spoken to her upon their first meeting, but they seemed even more daunting to her now. And 'princess' had never sounded like more of an insult. And Dallas wasn't even finished.

He chuckled. "Don't you think it's a little ballsy to just walk into a house that ain't yours? Y'know, especially cause you don't _have _any?"

He smirked, and she knew her face was bright red. The other boys rarely bothered to be anything but themselves around her, but none of them had ever been particularly vulgar. Dallas didn't seem to have any such qualms.

"Corina." The voice that came from the doorway behind Dally was probably the softest she'd ever heard, and she recognized it immediately. Johnny.

The two turned to stare at the dark boy. "You know her, Johnnycake?" Dally's tone was skeptical but not harshly so as it had been when he was addressing her.

"Yeah. It's okay, Dal, she's a friend. She's been hangin' out with us lately." Johnny's voice was still quiet, but it was relaxed, calm. Johnny Cade was perhaps one of the jumpiest people Corina knew. If she hadn't been so frightened herself, it would have been sort of funny that he wasn't.

Dallas, almost grudgingly, let her past and into the living room where she found the rest of the gang. It was rare to find both Soda and Darry home on a Saturday, and though Darry seemed a bit restless to not be working, both boys were situated in the living room. Dallas followed Johnny and Corina in, plunking himself down onto the Curtis's couch with crossed arms and a scowl. For a moment, Corina just stood there awkwardly, watching it all. She was reminded very much of her first day, when she'd run into the house after Johnny without realizing what she was getting into… until Two-bit waltzed over.

Okay, waltzed was probably not the right word. But he'd been singing, very loudly, along to something on the radio, which was turned up very loud.

"I see you've met ol' Dally," he said, slinging an arm across her shoulders as she'd learned he was apt to do. His breath smelled even more strongly of booze than it had all the other times. "He messes with everyone, but he's harmless."

Somehow, from how much he was slurring his words and the way Pony had turned to stare at him like he was crazy, Corina felt that perhaps Two-bit was not in the right mind to be making any sort of judgement calls.

Dally's eyes and hardened, his glare beginning to look a lot more dangerous. "You wanna test that theory, Two-bit?" His words were like ice… that seemed to strike everyone in the room except for Two-bit. But the older boy didn't challenge Dallas again, and everything settled down… Well, as settled down as the Curtis household ever got. As Corina took a seat on the floor beside Johnny, who was watching Steve and Soda play a very competitive game of poker, she wondered how in the world Ponyboy could sit there reading with all this background racket. Then again, he was probably used to it, and she didn't know anyone who could tune the entire world out with a book better than Ponyboy Curtis.

For a while, she actually started to feel settled and calm, too. Behind Steve and Soda, the television was on, also very loudly, but she could barely hear it. And she kept getting distracted by the action around her. Every once in a while, Steve would lunge across the table, attempting to out Soda for cheating. Half the time he was right, but even though there was almost a… rhythm to his movements, Corina jumped every single time. She'd then proceed to look down, embarrassed. And while Johnny smiling at her every single time would make her heart jump a little, she'd also caught sight of Dally's expression out of the corner of her eyes. He did not look impressed in the least by her actions.

She noticed a decided change in attitude of everyone when Soda and Steve finished their last game of the afternoon. It had ended in a, well, in Corina's mind it was a violent fight, but none of the other boys even seemed to notice. The two had bolted from the room, the noise they were making muted from the next one. They reappeared suddenly, Soda on Steve's heels, chucking an old, worn football at his best friend's head.

"Not in the house!" Darry ordered, as Steve ducked, the football just barely missing the lamp beside the couch. With a mischievous grin, Dallas snatched the football on its bounce up from the floor and bolted up from the couch, out the door a second later.

The action struck her as so… young and boyish that for a moment Corina could do nothing but stare. Around her, the other boys were following their tow-headed friend outside with accompanying hoots of joy that started to sound more like battle cries. Even Ponyboy abandoned his reading to run after them. Only Johnny stayed to help their confused guest to her feet, making sure she followed closely after him once on her feet.

Corina followed the boys to an empty lot not far from the house. She sat down on a damp, rotting wooden bench as Johnny ran off to join the game. Corina couldn't tell if it could count as a real game or not; their actions were so wild and she knew virtually nothing about football anyway.

They were so out of control, tackling unnecessarily and generally slipping around in the mud that Corina couldn't help but smile. Occasionally she'd let a shriek pierce the air whenever the boys got too close to where she was sitting, eliciting laughter from the majority of them, including herself. The odd thing was, when the ball finally came her way and none of them were in front of her to block it.

No one was more surprised than Corina herself when she didn't squeal, shriek, or jump away. Almost as if in slow motion, she saw the football arcing down to meet her. She simply reached out and grabbed. Of course, she flinched away afterwards, but it was already in her hands, and for once, the lot was silent.

That is, until it was replaced by Two-bit's hooting laughter. Sodapop was grinning and shaking his head in disbelief, and Dallas was making his way over to the somewhat stunned girl. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked, but when he spoke to her, there was none of the venom she'd heard in his voice earlier.

"Nice catch, princess." 'Princess' was certainly still far from an endearment, but it also didn't seem like so much of an insult anymore. He held out his hands for the ball, and Corina thrust it away from herself in what was possible the worst throw anyone had ever made. Still, Dally managed to catch it before it hit the ground, shaking his head in muted laughter as he walked away.

Darry was watching her intently. After a moment, he spoke. "Corina… Come here for a minute."

Confused, she obeyed, walking over to a few feet in front of the oldest Curtis.

"Dally," he said now, "throw her the ball."

The blond boy did so, gearing up and then throwing it all her full force, but not in a vicious way, if possible. Panicked and prepared for public humiliation, the last thing Corina was expecting was to be able to see the ball's path perfectly once more as it came rushing towards her. She held out her hands… and caught it, hugging it to her stomach.

Grins were slowly forming on the faces of the rest of the gang. Darry motioned for her to throw the ball to him, and she chucked it at him, another pathetic throw on her part.

Her throwing didn't get any better, but each member of the gang got their chance to throw it at her, and she caught it every single time. She was nowhere near becoming some sort of master football player, and the boys couldn't exactly teach her in a skirt, but just the fact that she was coordinated enough to catch the ball was a bit of an ego-booster.

"Corina's too much of a Soc name," Soda declared at last, and she blushed. "It doesn't fit you… How 'bout we just call you Cory?"

For a moment, she was so shocked that she couldn't say anything. At last she just smiled and nodded at the group, willing herself not to get emotional in front of a bunch of boys.

"I like it," Johnny said quietly from behind her. To be honest, she wasn't sure anyone else had heard him, but that was okay. She knew the words had been meant for her ears, and a little thrill rose up in her upon hearing them.

Knowing that the boys would want to return to their game, Corina made her way back over to the bench. She heard them start back up again, but didn't hear them shouting her name until too late. She turned to see the ball soaring towards her and Johnny chasing after it. She was hit with how funny it was when he crashed into her once more. Their relationship seemed to be characterized by such meetings.

But this one was different, Before she could hit the ground, Johnny wrapped his arms around her, cushioning the blow but losing the ball in the process. The gesture was sweet in its own way, and it left Cory's head reeling, but for a different reason than the impact would have. The gesture had been sweet, but it also gave off the appearance of being very planned.

It left her to wonder if maybe… just maybe… it hadn't been an accident.

**Review please!**

**Yes! I've finally finished it! It feels really long though.**

**I don't own the Outsiders. **


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_She's just like him,_

_Spoiled rotten, confused by the lies she's been fed_

_And she's searching for no one…_

_But herself _- **You're Not Alone **by **Saosin**

The positions were now reversed. For the first time since moving into their new house in Tulsa, Corina sat before the mirror at her vanity table. This time, it was she pinching a strand of her straight blond hair just below her ear, scissors poised in her other hand.

So much had changed in just a few weeks. She went to the Curtis house nearly every day. They hung out, treated her like she was one of the gang, and she'd taken to spending her time at school with the greaser boys too. Occasionally, she saw her old 'friends' as well, but her time spent with them had begun to seem phony.

In fact, a lot of her life was beginning to look that way. She felt the most real- most like she was being herself- when she was with the boys, when she was just being Cory. Then, each day she'd return home to act the part of Corina.

There was still a lot of what she'd come to see as her 'old self' in her now. She had a strong desire to revert back to that old self. Corina may have been cowardly and weak, but she certainly had it a lot easier. There were less decisions and less consequences when you couldn't stand up for yourself.

But another part of her- the new her- rebelled against that option so ferociously she was appalled that she'd ever truly considered it. Cory was strong, courageous. She could stick up for herself, she was a survivor… If she had to choose, Cory was clearly the better person to be, right?

The problem was… she wasn't sure she really felt like either of them. It felt like Cory was one person, Corina another, and she was stuck somewhere in between. But she knew who she _wanted_ to be. Was it really that simple?

The scissors shook in her hand. Could she do it?

"Corina?"

She whirled around to find the older MacAuliffe sister standing in her doorway. Except it was all wrong. Never had Ashley's voice sounded so gentle… frightened, even. She counted on her sister to be outgoing and headstrong. Her presence was always noted the second she walked into a room. She provided the perfect atmosphere for Corina to sink into the background.

"Are you all right?"

Corina remained silent. She had no words to answer that question… She wasn't completely sure. She just wished that Ashley would stop sounding so _concerned._

"Look, I know I've been giving you a hard time lately, but please don't do this to yourself. I won't tell Mom and Dad about you hanging out with the greasers… but please don't try to change yourself into something that you're not just to impress them."

Corina felt her courage wavering, and she gave into it. "I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you."

Her voice sounded a little too flat, even to her own ears, and Ashley stayed in her doorway for a few more seconds, but eventually she was left alone once more.

She set the scissors down gently on her desk. She'd been stupid… Becoming someone else wasn't nearly as easy as looking the part.

…

The television's volume was turned up nearly all the way, the radio was on… loud, the boys were all shouting to each other over the noise. It was a typical day in the Curtis household. It was always so full of commotion and laughter… Corina found herself comfortable here. However, today she was sitting out on the front porch, staring out over the yard. She didn't turn when the door opened behind her.

"Hey, Cory." The voice was soft and sweet, and the sight of Johnny Cade's face brought a smile to her own. "Mind if I sit here?"

This elicited a small laugh and a tone of fond indulgence. "Johnny, we're not in a school cafeteria or something. This is more your home than mine; you don't have to ask."

"Is that what's been botherin' you?" he asked, taking a seat beside her.

"What?" She looked surprised, but he just smiled. Perhaps she hadn't done the best job of hiding that she wasn't exactly having a spectacular day, but Johnny was still very perceptive nonetheless.

"No… I mean, yes, everyone's still telling me that I don't belong, but it's not that…"

"So what then?" It was both flattering and a little nervewracking to have Johnny's full attention. He hadn't even lit up a cigarette; he wasn't trying to look like he didn't care. His eyes were on hers, and she forced herself to look back into them.

"This is going to sound crazy…" He waited patiently. "I feel… like I don't know who I am anymore."

She felt her face growing hot and her eyes starting to water. She resisted the urge to wipe at them. Why did she have to be such a weakling? Why did she have to always get so emotional? Why couldn't she confront her fears without _crying_?

She was looking right at him… It shouldn't have come as such a surprise when he reached over and slowly wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape. At last, he looked down, embarrassed.

"It's not crazy," he protested, all the same. "You probably feel pretty outta place. I mean, _I_ belong here, you dig? But sometimes, I look at Pony and Darry and I wonder if they ever feel out of place, you know? They're so much better and smarter than this. It ain't fair that they're stuck here."

"You're wrong." He looked up, and she immediately tried to backtrack. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're right about Pony and Darry, but… you're better than this too… You don't belong here either."

He began to chuckle, and her cheeks burned an even brighter red.

"What?"

"Nothin'… Sorry you're uncomfortable and all, but… You're real pretty when you blush."

She was too shocked to do much else than stare as he got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. As she took it, Corina could think of a lot to say in response. After all, if there was one thing she knew it was that Johnny Cade held a certain beauty that was all his own. She loved his eyes and his smile and his sweet Southern drawl… But she knew she wouldn't tell him any of this. Maybe she wasn't entirely sure who she was anymore, but evidently, she still knew herself well enough.

…

"Corina."

Startled, the girl in question turned around to see Cherry standing behind her, waiting expectantly. Corina had been standing outside her classroom; she'd agreed to catch up with Pony and Johnny after class, but so far she hadn't seen them. And now, here stood Cherry Valance.

If she were being totally honest, she would have to own up to avoiding the other girl recently. She'd gone out of her way to avoid having to talk to Cherry and Marcia and all of the other girls. But now, here stood the one she'd want least to be stuck alone with, and she saw no way out. Yes, Cherry was the dangerous one… She wasn't afraid to ask the hard questions.

Yet, she couldn't exactly just pretend the other girl wasn't there. Corina nodded to her. It was a strained gesture… but it still opened her up to the conversation.

"I haven't seen you around lately." This put her at a bit of a loss for words.

"I've been busy," she forced out.

"You've been hanging out with those boys." Cherry's words were quiet, and they weren't exactly a challenge, but Corina could tell that she wasn't about to be brushed off with a lie. "Look, I know the kind of people that we hang out with aren't exactly tolerant… They're not willing to see the other side of anything, but they're our friends, Corina. And I'm sure not all greasers are bad, but I don't want you to get hurt."

Corina took a step away, overcome with indignance at Cherry's audacity to include her in that little speech. "They're not _my_ friends, Cherry."

She stalked off, determined to find her friends on her own and not look back. Perhaps she should have expected a confrontation, but it still got her blood boiling. This feeling of anger and frustration quickly turned to alarm when she turned the corner and saw Johnny and Ponyboy in a standoff with two, larger Socs. No one appeared to have been roughed up yet, but a fight was clearly in their future. With a start, Corina recognized Bob, Cherry's boyfriend and the one that Ashley had been flirting with on their first day, and one of his friends.

"Hey!" she called, surprising even herself. All four boys had jumped. "What are you doing?"

"What perfect timing," Bob sneered, turning back to the greasers though he was clearly talking about Corina. "We were just about to make an example."

"Leave them alone," she called out, taking a step closer. This hallway was so crowded… Why wasn't there ever a teacher around when you needed one?

For a while, none of them said a word. They were locked in a staredown, neither side backing down, until… Finally, Bob turned away.

"I won't subject a _lady _to watching your punishment," he scoffed. The way he stressed that one word… Corina had a feeling she knew what they were being 'punished' for. "Just remember, greasers, she's out of your league, and if I catch you trying to muck up our side of town again…" he trailed off, leaving the rest to their imagination. "Let's go, Dan."

Corina and the boys watched the two Socs leave. Slowly, she turned back to her friends, neither of whom had broken their tough façade.

"I'm sorry about that," she said quietly.

"Aw, it ain't your fault," said Johnny, turning to look at her at last. She was glad to see the old him, but his words troubled her. If not her fault, then whose? She didn't want Johnny trying to take the blame for this himself.

And his words weren't the only ones bothering her… What advice could she possibly give them? The buddy system obviously wasn't working… Bob hadn't seemed afraid to take two of them, and what if he just came back with more friends? Silently, she cursed herself for the scene she'd just made with Cherry… Like she'd ever needed a favor more…

"Please be careful," she said at last. The two looked at her with raised eyebrows. She'd been a little lost in her own world, and her words were sudden and pleading.

"Don't worry about it," said Ponyboy. "We'll be fine."

She wanted so much to believe them. Not long after, Two-bit and Steve made their appearance, and they all headed off to lunch. They were laughing and having a good time in general, and Corina began to believe him. The Socs had just been blowing off steam- there was no reason to believe today wouldn't be like every other day.

But when her final class of the day was over, Johnny was nowhere to be found. The earlier conflict had made her uneasy, and this did nothing to calm her nerves. She hurried out to the track, hoping that he'd simply gone ahead without her, but she couldn't think of any reason he would. When she got there, she saw a group of girls watching, the boys warming up, and no Johnny Cade.

"Hey, Cory." Pony had made his way over to where she stood. "Where's Johnny?"

Her heart fell. "I was hoping you could tell me."

The young greaser's eyebrows furrowed. He glanced back at his team mates. "Let's go."

"What?" She stared at him, startled out of her own plans of tracking him down. "But you have practice."

He grinned at her. Ponyboy was always so quiet and thoughtful it was easy to forget that he had his mischievous moments too. "They can go without me for a day. Come on."

The two set out from the school. They kept an eye out on the streets from the school to the gas station, but saw nothing. They ran into Steve as they walked up to the DX, but Johnny wasn't there either. It did nothing the calm Corina when she realized that her sister and her friends were also nowhere to be found.

"You can't find him?" Soda was already working, but Steve had not yet checked in for his shift. The middle Curtis brother looked like he was worried but trying not to show it. "I'm sure he's fine… Johnny's a tough kid."

"I'll help you look," said Steve suddenly. Thus far, he'd just been standing there watching them, his hands clenched into fists. "If the boss comes around… just tell 'im I'll be late," he said to Soda.

"He ain't gonna be here; he never is," replied his best friend, but still… he looked worried. "Good luck…"

"This doesn't… happen often, does it?" asked Corina. She knew it was no use, but she was still holding out for some reason to have hope.

"No," answered Steve gruffly.

"Sometimes Johnny won't come around for a little while, but we usually know where he is," Ponyboy supplemented.

They checked the vacant lot where Johnny often hung out and the Curtis house with no luck. It was getting later, and Corina was starting to feel like even if they did find him tonight, it would be too late. But too late for what? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out. The group headed out to finish their search at the field where the boys had been attempting to teach her to play football.

Not far away, Steve spotted the jacket that Johnny always wore lying on the ground. He almost stepped on it, really. He picked it up and examined the collar. He swore under his breath, his expression grim.

"What is it?"

All three of them jumped to see a worried Sodapop standing behind them. "Couldn't stay away," he said with a small smile even though this was hardly the time for laughter. "Jeff said he'd cover for us 'till we got back. What is that?"

"Blood," said Steve, showing him the jacket. His friend's face paled further.

"Well, come on-" Soda's words were interrupted by a low moan. Their heads snapped up to see a dark shape on the ground across the field.

Corina slowly fell behind as they all took off running. She came to the spot just as Soda was slowly turning Johnny over. Immediately, tears sprung to her eyes and she let out a little gasp of despair. Every inch of him that she could see was bruised and swollen, and his t-shirt was bloody. A large cut ran from his temple to his cheek, and she was positive it would leave a scar. She felt her stomach flip, fearing he was dead, but he let out another moan and soon, the four surrounding him were caught up in commotion. The rest of the gang had appeared.

Steve dropped to his knees beside his best friend, and Corina found herself searching out Dally. He was always so tough and mean… strong. She could use a little strength right now. But seeing the tow-headed boy did little to help her. Sure he was there, swearing up a storm and not hearing who cared, but he looked sick.

"Johnny?" He flinched as Soda tried to move him. "Hey, Johnnycake."

"Soda?" he croaked out.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't talk. You're gonna be okay."

Corina watched on, increasingly horrified, as Johnny forced out his story. She could hardly begrudge him his sobs as tears were already pouring down her own face before his even started. She closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her mouth as he struggled through the worst of his jumping.

When it was over, Soda and Steve carefully helped their friend up so they could make their way back to the house, Ponyboy flitting around, not quite knowing how to help. She took one last shuddering breath before she made to follow them. But before anyone got too far, Darry turned.

He appeared to be debating with himself, but one side won out because he finally said, "Cory, maybe you should go home." He didn't appear to be budging, and while she really wasn't in the mood to be arguing with Darry of all people right now, she wasn't about to leave. Luckily, she didn't have to.

"Let her stay." Never had she heard Dally's voice so mean and cold. Angry. "She wanted to play around on the East Side so bad, she can deal with a little blood."

It was by no means a little blood, and she definitely could have found in insult in his words, but she wasn't about to turn down a free favor. And yet, she found herself waiting outside on the front porch while the boys did what they could to clean up Johnny in the bathroom. Dallas took off not long after they arrived. Corina wouldn't like to be the next person he met that night…

She wiped at the tears still trailing down her own face, telling herself to get a grip. She was going to be here for Johnny even if she did prove time and again that she was the most helpless person he knew. There was still the low murmur of voices coming from inside the house- probably the quietest this place had ever been- but a second later the door behind her creaked open, and Johnny limped out onto the porch. Slowly and painstakingly, he sat down beside her.

This was so like it had been just a day before… yet totally different. Johnny was silent. There was nothing even comfortable about this situation.

"Are you okay?" she whispered out at last, disgusted at how stricken she sounded. Johnny had just been beaten nearly to death; what right did _she_ have to sound so terrified?

"I'm fine." His voice was steadier than she'd expected it to be. And yet, it looked like it pained him to say each word. He was steeling himself for something. "He was right, Cory… you really should go home."

She snapped her head around to look at him. "What? How can you say that? I'm not leaving now."

His eyes were blazing. If Johnny had ever been angry, it had never been at her. Though she was sure it had to hurt him to do so, he tore his shirt off over his head to show his bruised chest and scraped up shoulders.

"You were right, Cory. This ain't some game; you don't belong here." He seemed to curl into himself then, bringing his knees up to rest his forehead on, but as he did so, Corina spotted something else.

"Johnny," she breathed, "what is that?"

He looked up, bruised and battered and broken, as she placed her hand on the bare skin of his stomach. Beneath her hand was a bruise. At the moment, it fit its background, but there was something different about this bruise. It wasn't just starting to bloom… it was the yellowing color of a bruise that was fading- one that had already been there for quite some time.

"S'nothing…" he ducked his head again to avoid looking at her.

"I know what a healing bruise looks like. How often does this happen?" she asked, horrified at both the fact that this could be a part of Johnny's everyday life and that tears had sprung up in her eyes again.

"Stop worryin' so much. It wasn't the Socs."

"So who then? Answer me!" She wiped angrily at her face, determined not to look like some baby who couldn't handle the truth, no matter what that was.

"It's no big deal," he repeated. "I'll see you later, Cory; I gotta get home."

"Was it them?" she asked, aghast. Her words stopped him in his tracks. "You're parents?"

He turned slowly. His words were quiet. His words were always quiet, but she'd never heard them as meaningful as they were now. "Not everyone can live in a nice, happy family, Cory. But they're what I've got."

He turned away again, not sure why… but for the first time that day, he felt sort of… happy. He couldn't exactly explain it… but it… moved him that she cared.

Of course, there was that little voice in the back of his head… _The gang cares about you- they always have. What makes her so special?_

But that was the question, wasn't it? What was it that made Corina MacAuliffe so special? For he had to admit, he'd been seeing something in her for a while now. The fact that he was impressed that she cared couldn't just be because she was a nice girl from the other side of town who took the time to be bothered with is problems, right? Hell, while they were on the subject, that was more than his _mother_ did for him.

But, no… Even Johnny, who had no experience with girls, had to know it was something else. She was so preoccupied with her own frenzied thoughts, Cory didn't even seem to notice he was walking away. He waited for the inevitable, and as with all inevitable things, what he was waiting for finally arrived.

"Hey!" she shouted, shooting up from where she had been sitting on the porch. "I was talking to you!"

He didn't stop.

"Don't walk away from me!"

Her words appeared to have no effect.

"I mean it, Johnny! I'm not just going to let you go home to those… people!"

He heard her unspoken words- _I care too much. _So she cared about him… He wished he could define his feelings regarding her so easily.

"Johnny!" He was almost at the gate.

A second later, something collided, hard, with his already banged up shoulder. He winced and felt his knees give out. With a little shriek, Corina fell to the ground with him. She quickly rolled off of him, and he sat up, smiling at her. She was blushing again.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this." His words were only loud enough for her to hear, and he knew it sounded cheesy, but it made her smile widen all the same.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that all the commotion had brought the rest of the gang out onto the porch. The disapproval was very thinly veiled in their eyes.

He knew they didn't approve. He knew that the greaser lifestyle probably wasn't the best experience for Corina… and yet… he couldn't bring himself to tell her to stay away.

**Review please! (I don't own the Outsiders)**

**Thank you to **Dreams Written In The Stars **for reviewing chapter 5, and to **Dreams Written In The Stars **and **jusa lilcrazE **for reviewing chapter six! Hope you liked this one too!**

**And thus… we have come full circle! Did you recognize the prologue in there? **

**I would like to repeat that I do not own the Outsiders, because Johnny's jumping was an event taken almost directly from the book…**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Thank you to **Dreams Written In The Stars, jusa lilcrazE, **and **DoingItForJohnny **for reviewing the last chapter!**

**I'm fairly positive I know how I want this story to end, but I don't have a very good idea of the chapter count yet. Every time I try to plan it out, the length seems to change. :P It sort of depends on how long the chapters will be, I guess.**

_Do you think about me when the crowd is gone?_- **I Could Be The One **by **Avicii **ft. **Nicky Romero**

With the smallest of shrieks, Corina lost her grip on the hammer. She jumped back as it fell to the floor before smiling sheepishly at her dad only to find him chuckling to himself.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay. No one got hurt." His words slurred around the nails he was holding between his teeth. He spit them into his palm, into the hand that wasn't holding another hammer. "You should probably go inside and get changed though. Your mom would kill me if she knew I let you help me out here. Or hold a hammer, for that matter."

Corina nodded and made her way out of the shed. It was the first Saturday she'd spent in a long time away from the boys. Her father had decided to use his day off to fix up the shed in their yard that was beginning to look a bit on the shabby side. Ashley had all but scoffed at their father when he'd jokingly asked if either of them would like to assist him, but Corina had taken him up on the offer.

Now, she stood in her room, changing out of her work clothes. There was a reason she was spending this weekend away from the Curtis household, though it wasn't one she enjoyed thinking much about.

Corina had thought she'd had some sort of breakthrough with Johnny the afternoon following his jumping. But ever since, he'd become even jumpier and started pushing her away. He wouldn't talk to her like he used to. It was sad, but he'd reverted back to how he'd been when they were strangers. She could talk as much as she liked, but short of being polite, Johnny did little more than listen.

She knew this was his way of sticking to what he'd said before- he didn't want her involved in anything that had to do with the East Side anymore. She didn't belong there. But if anything had come from all this it was that she'd just stopped caring. Maybe she didn't belong… but if they wanted her out, she'd have to be forcibly removed.

All the same, her lack of progress with Johnny was discouraging, to say the least. She sighed.

"They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" she murmured to herself. Corina eased her old sweatshirt over her head… only to suddenly come to a decision. She left the sweatshirt on, but eased out of the sweat pants, managing to get them off without taking off her shoes. She wasn't sure what made her put on a skirt when she was trying to make it look like her appearance didn't matter, but not sooner had she run a brush haphazardly through her hair, she rushed out the door, calling to Ashley to tell their parents that she would be back later.

Though she all but snuck, ninja-style, out of her front yard, Corina strode forward with a sense of confidence and purpose once she reached the sidewalk. She was on a mission and no negative thought in the universe could stop her! So she hoped, anyway… That tiny transformation from Corina to Cory was taking place, and she wasn't about to push it away.

The familiar sight of the Curtis household came into view, and Cory forced herself not to falter in her stride. She didn't knock, just walked right in, not stopping until she noticed that it was eerily quiet inside. She quickly surveyed the area.

The only two greasers in sight were Two-bit, no doubt sleeping off a hangover on the Curtis's couch, and Dallas, who was sitting at the kitchen table, smoking where he most certainly wasn't supposed to be.

"Well, look who finally listened to our advice," he drawled lazily, the cigarette dangling from his lips. "Lookin' a little worse for wear there, ain't'cha, sweetheart?"

She ignored his jab, ignored Two-bit's curious look as he lifted his head from the couch. She could've sworn Dally chuckled as she clenched her fists and puffed up her chest a little.

"Where's Johnny?" she demanded, trying to sound as authoritative as possible.

For a good minute, Dally just watched her, that amused glint shining in his eyes, sizing up her change in demeanor. "Down by the lot with the others," he said at last, then rose to watch at the window when she strode out the door.

Corina refused to allow thought of what he thought of her cross her mind, she wouldn't look back and see the mocking look in his eyes, wondering how long her façade of courage would last. She had to continue moving forward. The lot was so close to the Curtis's house… Today it was a little closer than she would have preferred it to be…So focused was she on moving forward, Corina hadn't thought of a single thing to say by the time the boys came into sight.

Pony, Soda, and Steve were tossing the football (quite aggressively) around the field. She had just spotted Johnny sitting on a bench off to the side when Steve tackled Pony to the ground with much more force than she knew was necessary. Any other day, Johnny would have joined them, but she knew he'd done everything possible to refrain from this sort of rough confrontation since his run-in with the Socs. But she knew these spouts of passive behavior couldn't last long. The boys shared a friendship where he didn't have to worry about being judged, but she knew he would join back in again soon, if only to attempt to return to normalcy.

He spotted her the same time she caught sight of him. And from the look on his face, it was clear that she was on a mission. He didn't move- what was he going to do, run away from her? But he didn't exactly look overjoyed to see her there either.

"Hey, Cory," Soda called out cheerfully when he saw her. "What are you doing here? Wanna play?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ponyboy take advantage of his brother's distraction and give Steve a good slug to the ribs while they were still on the ground, but she ignored both this and Soda's questions, turning instead to Johnny.

"Morning, boys," she called out cheerfully, still not looking at them. To Johnny, in a lower, even voice, she said, "We need to talk." Then she proceeded to take his hand in hers and pull him off the bench with more strength than she'd thought she was capable of. His startled eyes widened, but he didn't have much choice but to follow her. She gave another fake, cheery wave to the other boys with her free hand and then pulled with away.

She couldn't turn back toward the Curtis house, not with Dally still watching. And she wasn't about to take him back to _her_ house- her parents would have a heart attack. Which left just one option. She continued on in the direction she'd come. Johnny remained silent, and she didn't let go of his hand.

At last they were in another vacant lot, one where she now knew Johnny often spent the night when it got particularly bad at his house. She finally dropped his hand from hers, but he still didn't say anything, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Say something," she pleaded in a soft, persuasive voice.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Cory." He didn't look up, and his tone was rough and uncomfortable, but he had returned to using her nickname, so she figured they were on the right track.

"Anything," she said quietly. "I just can't take this silence. I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what to do or how to act when someone gets hurt. And we seem to have fallen into this awkward pattern of falling all over each other and ending up on the ground when we do try to talk… Oh, that came out _so_ wrong…"

Finally, he looked up with a small smile, and she giggled. It wasn't like her to be able to babble on for so long… Okay, it totally was, but it usually didn't come out this fluidly.

Johnny put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and kicked at a stray tuft of grass, but the smile didn't leave his face even if his head was down. Unfortunately, it slowly faded to a frown.

"You don't need to apologize," he told her. "_I'm_ sorry. Dally was right- it's not right for you to be here, not safe."

She ignored this last part. "What did Dallas say?" she demanded.

A different sort of smile etched itself onto his face. "I ain't gonna repeat it word for word, but I'm sure you can guess what he said."

"Well, I don't care what Dallas said," she proclaimed boldly. "I don't come around every day for Dally."

She quickly bit her tongue. It was closest she'd come to acknowledging out loud what she felt for the boy standing before her- something she hadn't even let herself _think_ about just yet. From her current standpoint, she'd always convinced herself, Why ruin a good thing? And now, here they stood, seemingly having already destroyed it without acknowledging anything. But Johnny either didn't hear her or didn't catch what she meant.

"Either way, I _mean_ it, Cory. I don't want you to get messed up in this. Maybe I don't _want_ you to have to know what to do or say around injuries like this. I don't want you to have to deal with it whenever one of us gets beaten up or thrown in jail. It's not right for you. You're better than that."

It was probably the longest speech she'd ever heard him make. And to _her_, at that. One part of her thought his words to be incredibly sweet. Another part refused to let these words change her mind.

"That's not what I was trying to say," she insisted. "I meant that I don't know _yet_. But I will; I promise I will. I know I'm pathetic right now, but I _want_ to be around you guys. It's the highlight of my day. I want to be able to help you all when something goes wrong. You mean a lot to me."

"I don't think you're pathetic," he said. His words were quiet but sincere. All the same, she ignored him.

"Please, all I'm asking is that you give it a try. Please." Maybe pleading with him wasn't the best way to convince either one of them that she wasn't pathetic, but she would resort to begging on her hands and knees if that was what it took for him to give it a chance.

He was quiet for a long while. Finally, he said, quiet as ever, "Tomorrow night, we're goin' to see a movie at the Nightly Double… You can come if ya want."

She beamed at his answer. It may not have been much, certainly not a true date, but it was a start. She took his hand again, turning back to join the other boys. Things were looking up.

**Review please!**

**I know it's pretty short and not a whole lot happens, but I felt really bad about not updating in so long. And it's not exactly a spoiler to tell you that we all know the real trouble is just about to start. I considered leaving you all with a terribly cheesy, forboding ending, but you're in luck… I decided it would be a little much. This is the point where (excluding Johnny's jumping) this story starts to follow the events of the book. **

**I don't own the Outsiders.**


	10. Chapter Nine

**It's been so long since I've updated anything… I'm pretty sure summer vacation was supposed to have the opposite effect. The bright side is, the story should finally start to pick up and actually follow the lines of **_**The Outsiders**_**. The downside is that this chapter really isn't anything you have seen before. It's the scene from the book… only with Corina added in. So yes, that will change some things, but not a whole lot. Anyway… Moving on…**

**Chapter Nine**

_You're young but_

_Old enough to build up_

_Falling walls and false love -_**Camera Shy **by **School Boy Humor **

The fact that she basically was going on a _date_ with Johnny the next night wasn't something that she was numb to. On the contrary, it sunk in almost as soon as he'd invited her, and she couldn't have been more ecstatic as she made her way home. However, it didn't sink in until Corina caught sight of her house that she realized she would need to think of a good excuse for her mother. And she had a little more than twenty-four hours to do so.

She closed the door behind her as quietly as possible, sure she looked guiltier than anything. It didn't help that she turned around only to find her entire family sitting in the living room. In the armchair sat her father, his face shielded by the newspaper. Her mother sat at one end of the couch, knitting something. Ashley sat on the other end, curled into the corner with a book.

It was all so calm that for a minute that, had she not recognized her family, Corina would have believed that she'd walked into the wrong house. Granted, they could have their peaceful moments, but… When was the last time they were all together like this? Her father was so rarely _not_ at work that the sight of him relaxing in his own house, reading the newspaper was just bizarre. How long had it been since Ashley of all people had sat down just to spend an hour or two reading a book? It made her think that her sister must be waiting for something, using the book as an excuse to be in the room when it happened. And her mother… Sure, Laurel was the queen of domestic activities, but the only memories Corina could pull to the front of her mind of her mother actually _doing _any of these things were times when she'd been trying to force them on her daughter.

What had happened to her family? Had they really changed that much since leaving behind their sleepy Connecticut town? Their lives seemed to have become so much more fast-paced since moving out of their small-town environment. Or had they? Perhaps _she _was the only one who had changed.

All three of them glanced up when she walked in, and she smiled, albeit a little sheepishly, and gave her family a cheesy wave.

"How was your walk?" Her father asked somewhat pointedly. Clearly, this was where he had told Laurel she was, but there was a glint in his eyes that suggested he knew something that she might not want him to. It left her without any doubt as to where Ashley had gotten that look.

"It was nice," she answered mildly, trying not to make her next words sound like such a big deal. "I met up with some friends while I was out, and they wanted to know if I could go to the Nightly Double with them tomorrow night." The end all came out in a rush, but her family seemed to have caught what she said.

Corina's heart sank as she saw her mother's eyebrows immediately furrow. "The 'Nightly Double'?" she repeated. "I've never heard of it."

"They show movies at the old drive-in," Ashley piped up. "They tend to last through 'till midnight."

The frown on Laurel's face deepened further. "I don't know, Corina. That's awful late for a young girl to be out."

Cory was fully prepared with some nicely-crafted arguments, but she didn't have to use any of them. Her father spoke up to defend her first.

"She'll be fine," he said, surprising both her mother and her sister. George had a tendency to fade into the background and let Laurel take over whenever there was any parenting to be done. "Besides, it's not as if she'll be alone. Corina will be with her friends the whole time, right?"

For a moment, Cory could only stare back, just as confused as the other two. Then she hurriedly stuttered, "Y-yeah, of course."

"Good." Her father turned his attention back to his paper and that seemed to be the end of it. Corina rushed up to her room, not sure she really understood what had just happened.

It was true to say that Corina was a somewhat anxious person. No sooner had one worry been put to rest than it hit her that they hadn't really cemented any plans for the next day. When exactly was she supposed to meet up with them? And who exactly was 'them'? For she knew she wouldn't be alone with Johnny, but had she just agreed to a date accompanied by the whole gang?

Needless to say, she more than a little unprepared when she looked out her window the next afternoon to see Dallas, Johnny, and Ponyboy all standing out in the street in front of her house, seemingly waiting for her to notice. She jumped when she did spot them. Johnny had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes downcast but a small smile on his face. Even at a distance she could see Dally's now familiar smirk as he jostled Ponyboy roughly. The three boys were standing, literally, in the middle of the road, and Corina assumed it was some sort of game to test their toughness. Pony had shared a story about a game called 'chicken' that he'd played with a friend, (a boy she didn't know named Curly Shepard- Pony said he didn't go to school) and it had nearly made her sick, though she'd done her best not to let him see that.

Another sort of cosmic miracle had happened that day. Once again, her entire family was home. She was starting to think it wasn't so much of a miracle. Corina rushed outside, calling a quick goodbye to her family, and taking the stairs down a couple at a time.

She hurried over to the trio, eager to get them moving and out of sight of her house before her cover was blown. The fact that Johnny was still smiling and that his smile was now directed at her as he looked up was almost enough to freeze her right then and there, but she pushed on.

"What are you all doing here?" she hissed.

Dally flashed her his cocky grin. "Pickin' up you, kid. What, did you expect some fancy car?"

To be honest, she doubted it was below him to steal one, and she was glad that he hadn't. She wasn't sure what she should have been expecting, but these three boys, standing in front of her house in broad daylight was not it. She didn't miss the glance Dallas gave her. She was dressed to go out like she was with a group of girlfriends, a small purse clutched tightly in her hand. In her mind, she rationalized her appearance, saying that she hadn't dressed up for anything special. Her mother simply would have gotten suspicious otherwise. She didn't acknowledge this out loud, though she was just waiting for Dallas to make some rude comment or other.

But to her surprise, it was Ponyboy who whistled and said, "You sure look nice, Cory."

She raised her eyebrows as Johnny just laughed quietly, not quite under his breath. The two seemed to be in a goofy mood. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what they'd spent the day doing. Considering they'd spent it with Dallas, she knew it was probably something illegal.

So she didn't ask, choosing instead to just take the compliment in stride. She continues on her way, journeying to the sidewalk on the other side of the street- anything to put distance between the four of them and her family. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she calls back when the boys don't move. "Let's go!"

Dally smirks, and it is not lost on her that she doesn't know where they're going. But there's something in the atmosphere that she can't quite put words to. She hasn't seen Johnny this relaxed since his jumping, and it lifts her spirits. It helps that the boys follow her lead, taking the reins when they start walking.

The sun is just beginning to set when they arrive at the drive-in. Corina was prepared to wait in the line at the front, but the boys were heading around back. It gave her slight pause when the boys scrambled over the side of the chain-link fence encircling the place. She knew she hadn't really had any other options, but she cursed herself for wearing a skirt all the same. They seemed to realize this at the same time. Johnny's eyes widened and Dallas gave her a challenging look.

"Don't you dare look," she told them. Johnny and Ponyboy obliged all too easily, their faces bright red and shining in the dim light. Dally only laughed and made a big show of holding up his hands in a near-surrender and turning slowly. If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed just a little bit pleased that she wasn't shying away from doing things the greaser way. Or rather, the Dallas Winston way.

All the same, she scaled the fence as quickly as she could, considering it was a new experience for her. She made quite a lot of noise, but she hurried down, dropping to her feet the last foot or so. Seeing as she was wearing a skirt and had still managed to hold onto her purse… she was quite proud of herself.

"Well, whaddya know," Dallas said. It was a staged sort of mutter, designed for them all to be able to hear his words. "It might just be possible to beat the Soc outta you after all."

Corina held her head high in a dignified way, looking every bit the stuck-up princess. What would her mother have said if she'd seen her behavior tonight, Cory wondered? Well, scratch that. She was pretty sure you couldn't speak when you were having a stroke. But it was more than her mother's usual attitude regarding what was proper. She knew she'd crossed that line a long time ago. What she'd been doing recently was on a whole other level. She couldn't begin to imagine what her family would think if they knew she was proud of how she was beginning to fit in with these boys. She wasn't really sure what _she_ thought about how she felt.

It made her think of all those superhero comics. Granted she'd never actually _read_ any of them, but she knew the basic concept. It sounded absolutely ridiculous, even in her head, to try to make that comparison, but she imagined this was a little how it felt. Every time she was around the gang, she had begun to shed off the very essence of all the was 'Corina' and truly become 'Cory.' It was a nice feeling. Liberating, to say the least.

Cory smiled back at the boys and strode ahead, though she let them take the lead again when they made to catch up. She followed them to a row of empty seats in front of the concession stand. In fact, the entire area around them was empty apart from two girls sitting closer to the front.

It was as if a chunk of ice formed in Cory's stomach as she realized who they were. It felt like whatever had just clicked in her mind slowly dissipated. And then Dally started in.

At first, she didn't even realizing that he was talking for the girls instead of to his friends. Then she felt her cheeks go hot. Then she became too appalled to even be embarrassed at what he was saying. It didn't help that Ponyboy refused to acknowledge the situation, and Johnny had left, very quickly, to go get a soda at the concession stand.

Unfortunately, these weren't the kind of girls to just ignore something like this. So, while she may have been dreading it, Cory couldn't say she was surprised when Cherry finally whirled around and snapped in a tone that could freeze Hell, "Take your feet off my chair and shut your trap."

Was she imagining the brief glance that Cherry gave her? Just like that, Corina felt reduced to being the outsider just playing at fitting in with these boys. But if her presence was noted, Cherry didn't make a scene out of it. She was too busy staring down Dallas Winston, who hadn't been fazed in the least by her tone. He didn't move.

"Who's gonna make me?"

This was when Marcia turned around. She never had been nearly as cool as her friend. So her mouth popped open for a moment at the sight of Cory, but she then leaned closer to say, "That's the greaser that jockeys for the Slash J sometimes."

Perhaps it was _because_ she was feeling so mortified that Corina began to look at the situation in a detached sort of way. She saw the look Marcia had on her face, and she saw Ponyboy sink a little farther down in his seat. Suddenly, it was the other girls that she was ashamed to know. Had they always been this rude around her friends? Maybe the greasers didn't measure up to their standards, but they weren't deaf!

"I know you two," Dallas was saying now. "I've seen you around the rodeos."

Just how bizarre the situation really was hit her then. Cory knew Cherry and Marcia. Cherry and Marcia knew Cory. Ponyboy knew of this strange connection between the three girls. Did Dallas know?

"It's a shame you can't ride bull half as good as you can talk it," Cherry shot back. She turned back around, but Dally wasn't giving up that easily. He didn't even flinch as they threatened to call the cops. In fact, it only seemed to incite him to act even worse.

"_Please_ leave us alone," Cherry said at last. Corina had never expected to hear the fiery resort to pleading with someone like Dallas Winston. "Why don't you be nice and leave us alone?"

Dally just grinned, a dangerous look. "I'm never nice. Want a Coke?"

"I wouldn't drink it if I was starving in the desert." Clearly, Cherry had lost her patience with being nice as well. "Get lost, hood!"

Corina flinched at her tone. Even as awful as Dallas was being, she felt that was a little harsh. But Dally just shrugged, cool and controlled as ever, and walked away.

Cory would have breathed a sigh of relief… except that now there were two pairs of eyes fixed very steadily on her.

"Corina…" Marcia's voice was pleading. She seemed at a bit of a loss of what to do in a situation like this. It wasn't the type of thing that happened on a regular basis, if at all. Cherry didn't say anything, and in a way that was worse. So Cory did the only thing she could think of. Ignore the tension completely.

"Cherry, Marcia," she said, trying to make her tone as light as possible, "this is my friend Ponyboy Curtis."

Both Marcia and Pony seemed horrified at the direction this was taking, but Cherry seemed to take the hint. She watched Corina for just a minute longer before turning to smile, genuinely even, at the younger boy.

"It's nice to meet you, Ponyboy." Her tone was polite and conversational. "Your older brother Sodapop works at the gas station, right?"

"Yeah." He answered almost grudgingly, like Marcia trying to catch up with the turn this conversation had taken.

Cherry was still smiling at him. "Man, your brother is one doll. I might have guessed you were brothers- you look alike."

Corina was finally able to relax as Ponyboy grinned. Marcia seemed to settle down too, and she left the three to speak of Soda and rodeos and school. It was relatively calm when Johnny returned, sitting back down beside her.

"This is Johnny," Cory introduced when Marcia looked at her expectantly. Johnny's heart rate seemed to jump to a somewhat dangerous pace, but he managed a shy greeting, and the girls smiled at him too. She sat back and tried to watch the movie.

As luck would have it, things were just starting to seem friendly and peaceful when Dallas returned. To Cory's dismay, she noticed that he hadn't been joking. He'd returned with soda for all of them. A stranger may have interpreted this as a good sign, but from what Corina had seen, Dally didn't have a gentlemanly side. Still, she took her soda, as did everyone else. But while Marcia may have seen mollified by the turn of events, Cherry stared incredulously, first at the soda in her hand then at Dallas.

However, it wasn't really until Dallas sat down that she lost her cool. "This might cool you off."

Corina gasped as the other girl threw her Coke in his face. "That might cool _you_ off, greaser. After you wash your mouth and learn to talk and act decent, I might cool off too."

Unfortunately, knowing when to quit wasn't one of Dally's many talents. "Fiery, huh? Well, that's the way I like 'em."

He reached forward to touch her, but then, Johnny of all people reached out to stop him. But more surprising were his words. "Leave her alone, Dally."

The older boy was clearly taken off guard. And he wasn't the only one. Just a moment ago, Johnny had barely been able to work up a courage to say a word to the girls. And _they_ were friendly and welcoming. Corina could only stare at the boy. She knew how Johnny felt about Dallas. Granted, he was being more than rude, but where had this come from?

For the first time that night, Dally frowned. He hesitated, but Corina knew he wouldn't hit Johnny like he would anyone else. At last, he seemed to make up his mind. Dallas jammed his hands in his pockets, scowl in place, and stalked off.

There was no end to the surprises that night. Cherry, so cool and composed before, was the first to take a deep breath and sigh with relief when he was gone. But more surprising were her words. "Thanks. He had me scared to death."

It was only when Johnny smiled that Corina truly began to appreciate the sheer ridiculousness of what just happened. "You sure didn't show it. Nobody talks to Dally like that."

"From what I saw, you do."

She doesn't miss the reddening of Johnny's ears, and suddenly, Corina has never wanted to laugh so much in her life. What a strange, strange night this was turning out to be.

She didn't know it yet, but the most exciting part of that night was yet to come.

**Review please!**

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever… (I don't own the Outsiders) And, yes, this was mostly taken out of the book. The next chapter is mostly where it starts to deviate from the book. **


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